Sakura of the Sharingan
by SasuSakuHeart
Summary: Sakura didn't want to be weak and she didn't like to be doubted. After being told that her friends didn't care about her anymore, Sakura follows the ways of the Akatsuki. Using new powers given to her, she helps capture jinchuriki for Project Tsuki No Me. DarkSakura. SakuraCentric. AkatsukiSakura. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Starts before Shippiden.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Just trying something out.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 1**

Nothing was worse that people doubting you in Sakura's opinion. But, recently, that was all she got.

Doubt. All the fucking time.

With Sasuke defecting from the village, Naruto leaving on a training journey with Jiraiya and Kakashi going on higher ranked missions, Sakura was left alone. Her only real friend being Ino.

Of course, the rest of the Konoha Twelve were her friends at some point. But she knew what they said about her when her back was turned. She knew those nasty words they called her when they thought she was out of ear-shot.

'Weakling.'

'Useless.'

The worst thing was said by Neji Hyuga:

'Disgrace of a ninja.'

Everyone took part in the 'Bash Sakura' game except Ino, who would defend her, and Hinata and Shino - but those two only stayed quiet.

The pinkette didn't know why they called her those things. She was training under one of the Legendary Sannin and her skills had significantly improved since her genin days. They had improved enough for her to pass the Chunin exams.

That's right. Sakura Haruno had made it to chunin rank with the help of Ino and Chouji. The three took the exams together (all passing). After the exams had finished, the Konoha Twelve (well, really Konoha Nine because Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura weren't there) would often meet up at Barbe-Q; Chouji's second home.

On an errand for Tsunade, meaning said woman's apprentice had to pick up her lunch, Sakura overheard their conversation.

"Sakura fainted a lot in the Desert of the Wind..." Chouji said, a piece of meat, bathed in his saliva, flew out of his mouth.

"That's what happens of you don't train enough." Kiba laughed. "Weaklings shouldn't be allowed in the Chunin Exams."

"Hey!" Ino yelled, offended at dog-boy's remark. "For your information, she made it to chunin!" The blonde defended her friend.

"But she was useless..." Tenten muttered, causing Ino to send her a death glare.

"What do you mean useless? She's a medical ninja!"

"So are you, Beautiful Ino-san!" Lee said, catching the Pig out.

"Well, not as good as Sakura is. She saved me and Chouji when we were poisoned."

"But if she could take care of herself, we wouldn't have been poisoned." Chouji replied, frowing slightly.

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed.

"To put your teammates in danger and near the brink of death should be a crime." Neji stated. "Sakura Haruno is a disgrace of a ninja."

Sakura had run out after that. She forced herself not to cry, but that was unsuccessful, as it was for the weak. And she didn't want to be weak. That's why she trained under Tsunade.

It had been months since she over-heard the conversation and the cherry blossom would always catch on to what her 'friends' said. Hidden meanings, pointed looks and horrid whispers. She caught it all but she ignored it. Because she wanted to be the bigger person. So what if people thought she was weak? She was going to prove them wrong!

* * *

Having no actual team to go on missions with, Sakura often went along with other ninja. When receiving a mission from Tsunade, Sakura was glad that Ino was going with her but a bit annoyed with the other two who were also going with them.

Neji was team leader and he often made Tenten 'Second in Command.' But since Tenten wasn't going on the mission, Lee was made the second leader. Missions didn't always need a second leader but Neji always did so. And like he would trust Sakura to do it.

Tsunade told the ninja that it was an A-Rank assassination mission at the edge of the Land of Fire. A shinobi had taken over a village, along with his entourage, and Konoha had to stop him.

"Godaime-sama, if I may?" Neji interrupted the Hokage before she could dismiss them. "Is it wise to have two medical ninja on the same mission? What if Ino or **Sakura** ," The Hyuga emphasised the pinkette's name. "Are needed here?"

Tsunade seemed to think about what Neji said and Sakura prayed that her master wasn't actually doubting her. After a couple of minutes, the Hokage finally spoke. "Neji, I understand your point. But I noticed during the Chunin Exams that having these two on the same team has its merits. They co-operate well together and know each other's techniques. This is also the reason I chose you and Lee for the mission. The both of you can work well together."

"Yes, Godaime-sama!" Lee shouted. "We understand and respect your decisions! Thank you for this opportunity!" It was the usual mantra he said when given a mission.

Neji's lips pressed in a thin line. He was displeased. But Sakura was beyond giving a damn. He was an ass and that was that.

 _Bastard._ She wanted to spit at him.

 **"Do it."** Inner Sakura whispered and an image of the pinkette actually spitting on the Hyuga came to her mind. However, she refrained from doing it in real life.

The four set off on their mission.

* * *

Arriving at the edge of the Land of Fire and into the small village, the four ninja noticed that it had been completely destroyed. There were ruined buildings, red splatters on the floor and the worst of all: Dead civilians.

Activating his Byakugan, Neji looked around their surroundings. His eyes widened after he noticed something. "There are-"

He couldn't finish his sentence because multiple kunai were thrown at the Leaf ninja. All of them jumped out of the way and in front of them stood dozens of men, ready to fight.

"I thought there wasn't many people..." Sakura said.

"The intel was wrong." Ino growled.

"I am burning with youth!" Lee yelled, ready to protect his team.

Neji began to think of ways to get away, ways that didn't involve them fighting. There was too many people but maybe they were going to have to fight. With the four of them, they might've been able to win.

But, from out of the ground, from poofing out of thin air, from simply jumping out of the forests and onto the ground of the destroyed village, more men appeared. And the chances of the three chunin and one jonin significantly lowered.

"Retreat!" Neji shouted and the ninja jumped back, running through the forests. The men behind them began to yell and it was obvious they were being chased.

Lee was behind his team and turned around, trying to attack one man who had gotten close. Swinging his leg to land an attack, it was caught. The man smirked, showing his pointy teeth. He used the hand that wasn't holding the leg of the taijutsu user to grab his battle-axe. But, before he could, he was punched in the face by one of Sakura's chakra enhaced fists.

"Let's go!" Sakura shouted at Lee and they ran back over to Ino and Neji.

The Leaf ninja made it to a clearing when Neji noticed that they were actually being surrounded by these ninja. "We have to fight." He announced through clenched teeth.

Men came into the clearing from all different directions. Sakura began assessing how they looked.

Most of them had weapons. Battle-axes, swords and some people even had bows. Their chakra signatures suggested that some of them were just at the level of bandits but the majority of them had the level of ninja.

"Cover each other's backs." Neji announced to his team.

The men charged.

It went on for a long time. Sakura did punch after punch but the more men they took down, the more took their place. It was a losing battle.

The pinkette felt a punch connect to her cheek and she angrily kicked in that direction but her foot was caught. A ninja sliced his kunai at her face so she moved back.

However, it was a bit too late.

The kunai cut through her eyes and she screamed in agony. She knew the man would attack her again so she jumped to her left despite her vision. Only she felt a searing pain as her arm was sliced off of her body.

She heard two cries of her name before she felt Ino's chakra signal come close to her. The blonde quickly began healing her friend's arm, trying to stop the bleeding as Neji and Lee fought around them.

It took time but somehow Ino had done it. But she couldn't celebrate. She moved onto Sakura's eyes.

That's when the earth began to surround them. The four Leaf ninja were trapped in an earth dome. Neji began striking at the sides of the dome but it remained intact. Lee copied but, just like his comrade, had no luck. The Hyuga used his Byakugan to see what was going on outside. The results made him curse.

"What is it?" Lee asked his friend, casting a worried glance over at Ino and Sakura.

"They're pouring chakra into the earth from each and every side so we can't break it. Even above us." Neji said, his mind scanning through ways he could get out of this with his team. Oh, how he actually wished lazy boy Shikamaru Nara was here...

"We need to get Sakura to the hospital." Ino announced. "I stopped the bleeding but..." She looked at her friend.

"First, we need to get out of here." Neji said. "Then we'll focus on that."

The Team Ten kunoichi scowled. Yes, they needed to get out of this dome but their leader was acting as if his teammate injured was of little importance...

"Above us..." Lee said as he looked above them. There was writing on the top of the dome.

 **Explosion.**

"They're going to blow us up." Neji said. "We can't break out of here." The leader looked at the ground. "They're pouring chakra into the ground to so we can't tunnel out of here." Their rate of survival was thinning. "None of us know any transportation techniques..."

Sakura groaned as she stood. "I have a way." She said as she pat her leg, looking for her pouch. Her limited vision was annoying but she didn't have time to dwell on that. Producing a scroll, she opened it up.

"What's that?" Her rival asked.

"Last Resort Scroll." She answered. "Tsunade-shishou gave it to me for emergencies. It can teleport three people to the Hokage Tower."

"Wait, three?" Lee asked, a bit confused. "But there's four of us..."

Sakura didn't reply. Ino knew what the girl was the thinking.

"No, Sakur-" The pinkette opened the scroll, facing it to the chakra signal of her teammates. A bright white light emerged from the scroll and surrounded her team. Then, with a flash, they were gone. Sakura didn't see them go and she was sad that she couldn't. She would've liked to see them before she was gone for good.

The Team Seven kunoichi sat down in the dome, waiting for her demise. Her mind couldn't stop from thinking about... Well, thinking about everything.

 _I wish I had more time to prove myself to everyone. I wish I could have been able to bring Sasuke-kun back before my death. I wish I could have been able to do that with Naruto._ Sakura heard chanting outside and she knew it wouldn't be too long.

 _If I wasn't so weak, maybe I could've done something and I wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe if I actually tried to be a real ninja back in the academy, I could've done something for Naruto when he tried to bring back Sasuke._ There were so many 'What if?'s that Sakura couldn't go through them all before the explosion rattled the earth.

In the end, the pinkette believed it was a good way to go. She saved her friends by sacricficing herself. Well, 'friends'. Only Ino really counted as a friend. But it was nice to save the others.

Before Sakura fell asleep in her beaten and bloody state, she heard more screams but she ignored them.

 _If only Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei stayed, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess._ She thought it was quite selfish but she was still mad. Sasuke left, then Naruto left which was sort of understandable. But he still left her. Not for good, she knew that. But she still felt sad. And then, she barely ever saw her sensei.

The screams intensified as Sakura tried to go to sleep. She heard footsteps come closer to her before she passed out.

* * *

It was a dream. Sakura was sure of it. She was standing on a barren ground in the middle of nowhere. She could see Naruto and Sasuke far away. They were standing in a triangle. They all looked like they were twelve years old again.

The number seven was painted on the bare ground. Looking back up, Sakura noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were walking away.

Normally, she would've chased after them. But her feet forced herself away from them.

 **Team Seven were going in different directions...**

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open. _I'm alive?_ Was her first thought. Sakura stared up at the ceiling. It was white. She noticed she was on a bed. As comfy as it was, the kunoichi wanted to get up.

She tried to move but her body denied her. That's when she realised something weird. She could feel her right arm.

 _What's going on?_ She asked herself.

After a grueling ten minutes, Sakura was able to hoist herself up and look at the room she was in.

The pinkette was on a bed in the corner of the room. On her left was the wall and it had a mirror on it. The rest of the room was empty except from the table beside her and the chair on the other side of it.

Even though she was able to sit up, she still felt tired and she didn't want to get up. Looking at her right arm, she saw how it looked weird. It looked extremely pale. It wasn't actually her arm.

"The power of the cells of Hashirama Senju." A deep, rough voice rang though the room. It startled Sakura.

"Who's there?" She asked, trying to get up.

"Don't be afraid." A man with an orange mask appeared out of a swirl. Sakura looked at what he was wearing.

 _Black cloak with red clouds... Akatsuki!_

"I told you to not be afraid." He said. "As I was saying, your welcome for saving you."

Sakura didn't respond.

"That was a hint for you to say 'thank you' but we'll move on." He took a seat on the chair beside the table. "I am sure that you must be quite confused right now. So, if you have any questions, I'll answer them for you."

Sakura didn't speak for a while. How could she? She was afraid. What did this Akatsuki member want with her? Why didn't he kill her already?

The cherry blossom bit her lip. He said that he would answer her questions so it would hurt, right?

"..." _Oh, I actually have to speak to ask my questions._

 **"Dumbass."** Inner Sakura said from within Sakura. She ignored the bitchy remark.

"...What's the deal with my arm?" She found the confidence to ask him.

"I thought the first question was going to be about your eyes."

...Of course! _Stupid!_ Sakura berated herself. She had assessed the entire room and didn't notice that while she was fighting, she had lost her vision and now it had somehow returned.

Turning around to look in the mirror, Sakura observed her face. Their was a cut from the kunai near her eyes but she stared at the black orbs she now had. No longer the emerald-green she was often complimented on. They were just plain black now.

A flash of red in her eyes made her freeze. No it wasn't real.

But it was. She was looking at one tomoe in her eye spinning wildly.

"What did you do to me?!" Sakura shrieked as she stared at her sharingan.

 **A/N I hope you liked it.**

 **Also, about Sakura's sharingan activating, I was doing some research for this and learnt that transplanted sharingan can't be deactivated (Which is why Kakashi and Danzo can't deactivate theirs so they just cover it up) but I wanted Sakura to be able to turn it on and off. So, I'm going to make it like the way it is transplanted determimes if you can or can't deactivate it. Does that make sense? I don't know, I'm not very smart. I'll change it to something else if it doesn't make sense.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank you for your lovely reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 2**

It had to be a dream, it just had to be. There was no way she was staring at those red eyes on her face in the mirror. It was simply impossible.

Sakura blinked.

 _They're still there..._

She blinked again.

 _Not gone..._

She blinked ag-

 **"I think we've established that this is real."** Inner Sakura said, annoyed that her outer-self was extremely indenial.

The pinkette's dojutsu faded back into her black eyes. She continued to stare at her reflection before the mask wearing man caught her attention.

"I gave you this gift, Sakura." He said.

 _How does he know my name?_ The girl asked herself. This man was frightening her. He gave her the sharingan, he appeared out of a swirl, he knew her name and he was apart of a criminal organisation! Why would she not be scared?!

The anonymous man moved from his chair and sat on the bed. Sakura inched away a little more but it wasn't very effective because of the wall. It was at this moment that Sakura realised she was naked; only a white blanket covering her.

 _It just had to get worse._ Inner Sakura nodded.

"I'll explain everything." Anonymous said. "I do not intend to kill you. Actually, I want you to join me."

"For wh-" Sakura began.

"Questions at the end!" The man harshly interrupted her, his right eye (which is his only visible eye) showing his own sharingan. The cherry blossom restrained herself from making an 'eep' sound.

"I'll be honest, I've been keeping my eye on Konoha and you had caught my eye. You were a little girl put on a team with an Uchiha and a jinchuriki." The man chuckled a bit before noticing Sakura's confused expression. "Do you not know what a jinchuriki is?" The girl only shook her head - scared that the criminal would reprimand her for speaking again.

Anonymous continued. "A jinchuriki is a host to a Tailed-Beast." The kunoichi was confused again. "Did you not know that Naruto Uzumaki is a jinchuriki?" She shook her head, causing the man to sigh quite loudly.

Sakura frowned. _It's not my fault no one told me._

"Moving on. After Sasuke and Naruto left, you trained with a member of the Legendary Sannin. Too bad they weren't there to celebrate your accomplishments. You know, they never were." The man stood up from the bed and closed the door, talking as he did so. "Sakura made it to Chuunin rank. Oh, wait, her teammates didn't care enough to stay. It even started earlier on. Sakura was the first to climb a tree, Kakashi then doesn't teach you anything else and uses your accomplishment to give the boys a boost."

 _Just how long has he been watching us?_ The pinkette asked herself. The Land of the Waves was so long ago yet this man seemed to know everything.

Anonymous sat back down next to Sakura. "My subordinate found you; injured and asleep. He brought you back here and I tended to your wounds."

"My arm and my eyes..." Sakura said, her voice just above a whisper.

"I replaced your arm..." The man trailed off as if he was deciding how he should tell her something. "...With one that was cultivated from the cells of the First Hokage."

"What?!" Sakuta shrieked and was about to get up. Anonymous' sharingan flashed which caused her to shrink back into the corner of the bed.

"You possess the cells of Hashirama Senju. As do I." He said it so casually that it didn't sit well with Sakura. However, the girl wanted to move on. The sooner she found out about what happened to her, the sooner she could find a way to leave.

"And my eyes...?"

"I had them lying around." He answered.

 _That's not creepy._ Sakura bit back the remark. There was more to what he was letting on but what should Sakura do about that? No matter where he got them from, she still had the eyes of an Uchiha. She still had this power that she never in a million years thought she would have.

"I can train you, Sakura." Anonymous said, shocking the pinkette. "We both possess the sharingan. We both possess cells of the God of Shinobi. Join the Akatsuki and you will never be doubted or called weak."

He was serious. The stranger wanted to train her.

"You're mental!" Sakura spat. "I would never join you criminals no matter what you offer me!"

"Really?" The man asked, dragging out the 'ee' sound. "Project Tsuki No Me."

"What?"

"I can create a dream world, Sakura. A world tailored to you and your desires. To be strong, to be celebrated for your accomplishments. To have your team back with you. All I need is for you to help me capture all the Jinchuriki. Granted, they'll die but that doesn't matter because you can bring them back to life with the Infinite Tsukiyomi."

 **"Do it!"** Inner Sakura screamed. **"I want that life!"**

 _I can't... Not if Naruto's going to die..._

Sakura did it quickly. She punched Anonymous in the stomach, jumped out of the bed and ran out of the door. She was aware she was not wearing anything but she didn't care. She had to find her way out and then she would worry about that.

The cherry blossom was running through the corridors, guessing where to go since she had no idea where she was.

 _They already know I'm running so..._ She looked at her right fist before punching the nearest wall. It crumbled into pieces.

 _I used way too much chakra for that..._ Sakura looked at her hand in wonder before quickly running once again.

But she was stopped by a now familiar swirl.

Anonymous stood in front of her, shaking his head. He began to take off his cloak. "This is not even mine." He said as he handed it to her, showing that he was wearing a black shirt and black trousers underneath. "Be sure to return it to Zetsu once we get you new clothes."

Sakura slowly put the cloak on. There were a lot of things that were wrong with what he said. Sakura was not going to stay here so they didn't need to buy her clothes and like she was going to return the Akatsuki cloak. _It could prove useful for infiltration or something..._

Sakura began to think of more ways to escape. _I could chop his head off._ Whatever she chose to do, she had to be careful. He was an Akatsuki member so it would prove difficult to escape.

"Where were you going, Sakura-chan?" He used the honorific in a mocking sort of tone. "I don't know why you want to go back to Konoha. Where no one cares about you."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "They do care-"

"Bullshit!" Anonymous yelled suddenly. The kunoichi couldn't see his face but she felt his glare. "No one there cares about you, Sakura! And you don't need them." He flashed his sharingan once more when Sakura was about to shout her retort. The pinkette swallowed her arguement with an audible 'gulp'.

"If Sasuke cared about you, why didn't he stay? Why did he leave you in the village when you begged him to take you with him? Why did he leave you on that bench?" They were questions she couldn't answer.

"And Naruto. His arguement to Sasuke was that he could get stronger at Konoha. But, next thing you know, he left the village too. He left you without a team. He just left you to suffer alone. He never cared."

How did this man know everything? He knew what Sakura felt when she was alone. He knew that when her teammates left, she was going through hell.

"I still have my friends..." It was a weak and unconvincing whisper.

"Those people who doubt you aren't your friends." Anonymous' tone was a lot softer than it was before. The man's changes in tone were terrifying and comfusing. "Where were they when your parents died two weeks ago?"

It was like a slap to the face. Sakura remembered the Anbu ninja who gave her the news. The cherry blossom cried for three days, not seeing a single person in that time. Once she was ready to go into public, Ino apologised for the sudden deaths of her parents. It was nice, but it wasn't like it helped. The hole in her chest from her teammates' departure grew bigger with the death of her parents.

Tears rolled down the pinkette's face as her shoulders shook. She began to sniff uncontrollably while furiously wiping away her tears.

"Sakura..." The masked man's voice whispered to her. "They don't care about you. They never did." She let out a strangled cry - maybe trying to protest but failing. "Only one person in this world cares about you."

The cherry blossom looked up at him with her teary eyes, curious as to what he would say. The man simply opened his arms wide.

It was an invitation from this stranger (She didn't even know his name). An invitation for Sakura to join this organisation and help with Project Tsuki No Me. A dream world... Where people cared about her. Where people didn't doubt her. Where people congratulated her for her achievements.

 **"Do it!"** Inner Sakura urged her outer. **"This is what we want!"**

Sakura dove into Anonymous' arms, hugging him tightly as she continued to cry.

And that was that. Sakura Haruno had joined the Akatsuki.

 **A/N This is not a Tobi/Sakura fic, by the way.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 3**

"Ino." A knock resounded on said girl's locked bedroom door. She didn't respond. She didn't want to. How could she? She didn't want to go **there**. "Ino." The person knocked once more and the blonde girl deduced that it was Shikamaru on the other side of the door.

"Y...Yes?" The kunoichi finally replied, her voice just below a whisper.

"It's time for the..." He trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"Okay." Her voice was louder as she stood up in her black dress. Opening the door, she tried to give her teammate, who was in a black suit, a smile but she couldn't.

What was it time for, you ask? Sakura Haruno's funeral.

Once the pinkette used the Last Resort Scroll, Ino, Lee and Neji found themselves in Tsunade's office. Ino told the Hokage about her apprentice and an Anbu squad was sent to investigate.

Only to find nothing.

No bodies.

No Sakura.

Tsunade was going to put her as a missing ninja but the elders told her there was no point. There was no point for a civilian girl like Sakura to have Anbu squads looking for her. They gave her a few days to return. She never did.

So that was why Sakura was going to have a funeral. With no body to descend into the ground. With no body to be honoured for it's sacrifice. With no body for them to ever see again.

Or so they thought.

* * *

Kakashi stood in the back of the crowd, silently mourning his female student. It would never ever be the same without Sakura. If Naruto was to somehow bring Sasuke back, it still wouldn't heal the hole in Team Seven.

Neji stood next to his team. _Sakura Haruno._ He thought. _I was wrong about you._

Tenten stopped tears from sliding down her face. _You were never useless, Sakura-san._

Team Eight had their heads bowed along with Chouji who was soon joined by the rest of his team. Ino quietly looked at her best friend's name that was carved into the Hero's stone. _Sakura Haruno is a hero._ The girl thought.

Tsunade stood at the front. She wasn't shedding any tears. No, she did that in the morning. Now, she was going to have to speak about her apprentice. And she was going to drill into these people's heads that Sakura Haruno was the strongest ninja in Konoha. And the most determined ninja in Konoha. And the most improved ninja in Konoha.

And as the funeral was taking place, far away, Jiraiya received a letter from Tsunade. And that letter would break Naruto.

* * *

A blue-eyed, blonde-haired ninja was sparring with a shadow clone when his master asked to speak with him. Releasing the jutsu, the boy walked over to his master.

"Ero-sennin." Naruto said, mildly irritated from being interrupted probably for something stupid. "What is it?"

Jiraiya didn't know how to say it so he passed the letter over to Naruto.

It was deathly silent as Naruto read the letter. Jiraiya waited in agony for his student to make any reaction whatsoever. Once the Nine-Tails' host got to **that** specific part of the Hokage's message, his eyes widened and he dropped the piece of paper.

"No." He said it quickly as his body began to shake. "We were supposed to bring back..." He didn't finish as tears rolled down his cheeks. The boy didn't try to wipe them away. That wasn't his focus.

"Sakura!" He screamed.

* * *

Days after waking up in a empty room, Sakura stood in front of a huge boulder with a sealing tag placed on top of it. She was wearing new clothes; a black shirt and black trousers - the exact same the masked man was wearing who was standing right beside her. She also wore her forehead protector but the Leaf's symbol was slashed, signifying that she was now a rogue ninja.

Anonymous told her that his name was Madara Uchiha. The pinkette remembered the name from some of her studies in Konoha's library. The Uchiha also told her that he went under the name 'Tobi' when in the prescence of the other Akatsuki members and that his behaviour would be quite "unexpected" for her.

Another person stood with them. Sakura learnt that this was Zetsu - the man she returned the Akatsuki cloak to - and he completely and utterly freaked her out. Half of his face was white and the other half was black. She didn't want to be racist but he still freaked her out because of how he spoke (in two different voices) and how he looked like a giant venus flytrap.

White Zetsu said his name and the giant boulder simply vanished. Sakura blinked to make sure she was seeing this correctly and followed the other men when they walked into the hideout.

It was dark inside the cave and Sakura was wondering where the other members of the Akatsuki were.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on here?"

A figure approached them from the darkness. A man with blonde hair and a camera covering one of his eyes was the owner of the voice and he was accompanied by another man with silver hair and a red blade on his back.

"Deidara, Hidan." Black Zetsu said.

"Where's Leader-sama?" White Zetsu asked. "We have a girl here," He gestured to Sakura. "Who would like to join us."

"A girl?" The man with silver hair said. "She has pink hair?!" The criminal let out a loud laugh causing Sakura to frown.

Suddenly, a flash appeared in between the ex-Team Seven kunoichi and the new people. A hologram of another man appeared. His eye grey with a ripple pattern spread across it. The cherry blossom's eyes widened as she noticed what this man's eyes were. The most powerful Great Eye Dojutsu. The Rinnegan.

"Sakura Haruno." The hologram said. "Pupil of Tsunade Senju - the Fifth Hokage."

"Holy shit!" Silver hair said. "The woman with the big breasts-"

"Hidan." Black Zetsu's tone suggested a warning.

"If we are to let this girl join," The hologram said. "She'll have to pass our test."

"Hey," Deidara caught everyone's attention. "Tobi asked first, why should we let Pinky join?" Sakura scowled at the nickname.

"Tobi will let Haruno-san join first!" Madara yelled, stunning Sakura that he sounded like a child and was speaking in third person. _That's what he meant by "Unexpected"._

"Test?" Sakura spoke up for the first time - trying to use a tough-guy voice but failing as she sounded like a frightened child. All of the members present turned to her and she tried not to make any sounds that implicated any sense of fear from her.

"A one-on-one match." White Zetsu said. "With one of us." He continued.

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face as he said so. She would have to battle one of these people?! Who exactly?! Venus Flytrap freaked her out, Hologram had the Rinnegan and she knew nothing of the other two but Hidan's red blade was enough for her to want to fight Deidara.

Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice more Akatsuki members arrive at the scene. When she did, her eyes immediately looked straight into Itachi's.

 _He looks a lot like Sasuke..._ The name felt weird in her mind.

She knew who this man was. She knew that he greatly resembled her anti-social teammate from descriptions given to her by the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. Along with him, there was Kisame Hoshigaki. Or "Shark-man" as Naruto referred him to.

Sakura noticed that Itachi looked at her oddly. She half expected him to use his Sharingan on her and that's when the paranoia hit her. _What if he knows I have the Sharingan? Is he going to kill me because of that? Will he let me live but take my eyes?_

 **"Bitch.** Inner Sakura spoke. **"How the hell would he know about our eyes?"**

Sakura ignored her inner self.

There were some others whom she didn't know of. A hunched man who's cloak dragged on the floor as he moved and another man with a mask like Kakashi's on his face but he looked a lot more fierce.

Another hologram appeared and, from the figure, Sakura thought it was a girl. She didn't know what the woman looked like since the holograms didn't really show appearances.

They all stood in silence. Sakura didn't know what was going on until the leader spoke again.

"Deidara." He said. Everyone except said man walked away onto the sidelines. Sakura was about to follow Zetsu but he pushed her back.

"It's your match." White informed her. The cherry blossom blushed and turned towards her opponent. She felt nervous because everyone else was going to watch. Shaking away the thoughts of everyone watching her, Sakura focused on her opponent only to find him smirking at her.

"You do realise that if you fail, we'll kill you, right?" The pinkette didn't resond to Deidara's question. This only made his smirk grow wider.

He placed his hand into his pouch and kept it there for a while. To be honest, it made the kunoichi feel uncomfortable. Once he took it out, he held a white piece of clay and moulded it into the shape of a bird.

Sakura was confused. Why was he sculpting something on the battlefield? Did he think she was going to bow at his art skills?

"Art," He began and through the piece of clay at Sakura. In a poof, it transformed into an actual bird and flew towards the girl. "Is an explosion!" Once it was right next to her, the clay bird glowed and exploded.

 _They explode?!_ Sakura jumped away just in time. But Deidara was already throwing more birds at her. She was glad that Tsunade gave her extensive training in evasion or, at this point, she would be screwed.

"This is getting boring." The blonde groaned and made clay spiders. They crawled across the floor and ran at Sakura who was trying not to scream at the insects.

The ex-Leaf ninja threw kunai at them and they exploded on the spot. But she felt something wrap around her. It turned out to be a clay snake. Multiple more wrapped themselves around her body so she couldn't move. Looking at Deidara, he was making a giant clay bird and once he was done, he hurled it at the girl.

 _Break out, break out, break out!_ Using a lot of force, Sakura broke the clay snakes and ran from the bird's explosion just in time. She ran on the wall of the cave, much faster than she ever had before. That's when she noticed her Sharingan was activated.

 _I run faster with the Sharingan... Good to know._

Jumping off of the wall, Sakura enhanced her fist with chakra and punched Deidara - who tried to block it but failed. The hideout shook and the pinkette's punch caused rocks to fall as well as made a crater with an unconscious Deidara in it.

"That was one helluva punch!" Hidan yelled.

Sakura looked at the crowd, her eyes once again landing on Itachi's. His face held no emotion, just like before, but it seemed different. She could detect a hint of surprise in his eyes and she, at first, thought it was because of her strength.

"The Sharingan." The male hologram said. "How did you obtain this, Sakura **Haruno**?" He emphasised her last name because she was not an Uchiha.

Sakura thought about how to answer the question. She looked at Madara who discreetly shook his head.

"That is none of your business." The cherry blossom replied, trying her best to keep her voice steady and actually succeeding.

"She's feisty too! Leader-sama, you have to let her join!" The silver-haired man yelled again.

"Hidan." The man, who had a mask like Kakashi's, said. "Shut up."

The Rinnegan Possesser looked Sakura over. "Very well. Sakura of the Sharingan, welcome to the Akatsuki."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thanks for ten reviews! It means a lot!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 4**

 _I don't know if I'm ready._ Naruto thought as Konoha came into view. _It'll be so different without..._ He couldn't even finish his thought; it was too hard.

It had been months since Naruto recieved news of the demise of his teammate. He didn't remember much of his reaction. He only remembered that it involved a lot of crying for long periods of time. Jiraiya gave him space and urged him to take some days off from training, however the blonde refused. The training helped take his mind off things but once he stopped training, he found himself swimming through memories.

They tore him to pieces and ripped him to shreds. Everytime he imagined her smile, he would realise he wouldn't see it in person again. He realised that he wouldn't be able to try her awful cooking again. He realised that she wouldn't help him bring back Sasuke. And it was because she was gone. Forever.

Naruto paused before he entered the village. His master eyed him but stayed quiet. Slowly taking a step in, the jinchuriki heard his name being called. The person who called his name turned out to be Ino.

"I- I..." The girl looked at the boy in surprise. She didn't expect to see him after so long. Then she thought about Sakura and felt this hole in her chest widen. Her vision slightly blurred and tears cascaded down her cheeks. She noticed Naruto copy her expression of pain before running into his arms.

They were never close but the loss of their friend hurt them deeply.

"You're back." Ino was the first to speak. "You probably should go see Tsunade-sama."

"Can you take me to the Memorial Stone?" Naruto replied, still hugging Sakura's ex-rival. The kunoichi nodded, knowing that Naruto needed this.

* * *

"She's a hero." Ino said while Naruto traced over Sakura's name on the great stone. "She saved me."

"How did she...?" He couldn't say it but the girl understood what he meant.

"We were trapped and couldn't find a way out. 'We' being myself, Sakura, Lee and Neji. The dome we were trapped in was set to explode. There was no way out until Sakura used a teleportation scroll on us."

"Why didn't she teleport herself?!" The Team Seven ninja's voice was harsh though he didn't actually mean to be rude.

"The scroll could only transport three people." Ino scoffed because she thought it was stupid. "Why make a scroll a last resort when it has such a stupid rule that resulted in the fucking death of my best friend?!" Her voice grew louder as she said the sentence until she was screaming at the end.

"She is a hero..." Naruto whispered after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, she is." The kunoichi replied. "I made a grave for her... Well, we don't have her body but-"

"Thanks." The boy smiled weakly at her. "Let's go."

They walked to the graveyard.

* * *

"Why is there sand everywhere?!" A blonde man in a black and red cloak complained.

"Oh, I don't know. Why the fuck is there sand in a desert? The earth is just so fucking crazy." A pink-haired girl replied causing the blonde to glare at her.

"Sarcasm." A short, hunched man, in the same cloak as the other two, said.

"Really?" The pinkette asked. "I thought it was quite literal."

"Sakura, you're such a Goddamn bitch, you know that?" Deidara fumed.

"How can I be a bitch? I may be female but I am most certainly not a dog. And if I were a dog, I think I'd know it." The cherry blossom smiled widely, enjoying the irritation that marked the blonde's face.

Sakura had changed a lot throughout the months. In appearance, she always wore her Akatsuki clothes and her Sharingan had evolved - obtaining a second tomoe.

Training with Madara had been vigorous. She learnt a lot though. The cells from Hashirama Senju enhanced her strength and also gave her the ability to use Wood Style. The Sharingan gave her the opportunity to utilise genjutsu - something Kakashi had failed in teaching her. And by 'failed in teaching', Sakura meant that he never even tried.

The ex-Konoha ninja also carried daggers with her, gifted by her new sensei. They were her weapons of choice as she preferred them over a blade like Hidan's or puppets like Sasori's.

And, finally, her personality had changed also. She was no longer reluctant about killing people. In fact, she loved it when her victims' blood would splatter against the floor. She found pleasure in watching the life drain out of their eyes. She no longer cried and she no longer counted on anyone else. The only people she could trust was herself and Madara.

The first trio of the Akatsuki were currently on their way to Suna to capture the One-Tailed jinchuriki: Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage. After a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors it was decided that Deidara was going to capture him.

"Sakura," The artist caught the cherry blossom's attention. "You know this Kazekage, right? Anything I need to know?"

The pinkette thought for a while. She didn't know much about him even though she knew him since she was twelve.

"Well, let's just say that since you're annoyed at the magical sand in a desert now, you're going to be annoyed when fighting Gaara."

"What do you mean 'New Team'?!" Naruto yelled at the Hokage. "I have a team!"

"Sasuke left and Sakura-!" Tsunade tried to calm herself down. "Sakura... is gone." A silence descended on the room, the only sound being Naruto's furious breaths. After a couple of seconds, the Godaime shook her head and began to speak. "A New Team Seven will be made consisting of two jonin, a ninja at chunin rank and you - a genin."

"I don-" The jinchuriki began.

"Naruto, this is non-negotiable." Tsunade cut him off. "To test your teamwork with this chunin, I have organised a test for the two of you to take. Sai, come in."

The door opened to reveal three people. Naruto recognised Shikamaru, he remembered the blonde from somewhere but the pale-skinned Leaf ninja was new to him.

* * *

Kakashi held out two bells towards Naruto and Sai. After a lot of arguing, Naruto gave up and agreed to the new team. Of course, he began arguing again once his sensei revealed that they weren't going to meet the second jonin on their team yet.

Sai annoyned Naruto. The boy was rude, he was creepy and he always smiled.

"Don't drag me down." The blonde said to his teammate. "This is a team effort."

"Yes." Sai replied.

It was a tough battle; it had taken a day. Naruto tried not to let memories consume him and battled with all his power for those bells. He didn't want to admit it, but Sai was a big help. His technique with his ink was good for long-range attacks and his taijutsu was decent.

The win didn't feel complete to the jinchurki. Mainly because they won by yelling out false spoilers of Ichi Icha Tactics.

Sai regarded the blue-eyed boy with interest as Naruto cheered at their win. His idea was unusual and shouldn't have worked. But maybe that was because his sensei wasn't as good as the rumours of Kakashi the Copy Ninja were. But, it was fact that Naruto was truly a very unpredictable ninja.

"Oh." Kakashi said all of a sudden. "I guess you guys get to meet the other member of our team now."

A man wearing the same outfit as Kakashi walked up to the group. The man's almond-shaped eyes made Naruto shiver.

"Hello." He said to them. "My name is Yamato."

 _A basic introduction._ Naruto thought as he introduced himself to the new member. _We're a weird bunch._ He referred to the New Team Seven.

* * *

"Someone's coming." Sakura said to her teammates as they walked alongside a giant, white clay bird with Gaara in its mouth.

"Give back Gaara!" Kankuro shouted. The three Akatsuki members turned and his eyes immediately went onto the pinkette's hair. The puppet user's eyes raked over her body, confused.

"Hey, could you stop eye-fucking me?" Sakura asked. "I mean, I've caught you doing it before and it's really weird. I'd rather you buy me dumplings first."

 _I think my humour has improved with time._ The cherry blossom thought to herself.

"Sakura Haruno!" He was shocked. "Y-you're supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah." The rogue ninja replied. "I am. I'm a ghost. _Wooooo..._ "

"You're with the Akatsuki?! You have Gaara!" Kankuro dropped down three scrolls that were on his back and his puppets appeared.

"This is taking too long." Sasori said. "I'll take care of him."

Instead, Kankuro's puppet, 'The Crow', flew towards Sakura. With her right hand, the cherry blossom punched it and it broke into pieces.

"Sorry. Just like most men, my really muscular right hand just works on its own." She smiled at her crude joke.

"Enough." Sasori announced. "I'll end him." He whipped his tail at Kankuro and the Sand ninja tried to protect himself with his puppets. But he should've known he was going to lose as he was up against an Akatsuki member.

* * *

"I have no choice then." Tsunade said. They had just recieved word that the Fifth Kazekage had been taken by the Akatsuki. Team Seven were standing in front of the Hokage, waiting for their mission but a woman ran in and delivered the devistating news.

"Tsunade-sama, you seriously can't be thinking-" Shizune started.

"What else can we do?!" The Godaime interrupted the woman. She turned back towards the team. "Kakashi, I order you and your team to travel to the Hidden Sand and gather info so that you can follow the tracks of the Akatsuki member that took the Kazekage. Your mission is to retrieve him. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" Everyone in the team responded except Naruto who yelled "I'll bring back Gaara, believe it!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 5**

"Naruto..." Kankuro coughed as the people surrounding him begged him to stop talking. Temari felt the need to punch him for defying them but held herself back because of the situation. There was no way the Godaime could make it in time to save the puppet master. They could see his life force slipping away as he groaned in agony.

"Sa... Ku... Ra..." The boy's voice was slow as he spoke through the pain of his poison. But he had to tell them who he saw. He had to tell them he saw her, wearing the robes of that organisation and travelling with the bastard who took Gaara.

"What?" The blonde asked. _Did I hear him right?_ He wondered.

"Sakura Harun-!" Kankuro coughed harshly multiple times.

"Stop talking!" His sister ordered but he ignored her.

"She..." He tried to regain his breath. "She is with them."

"I don't understand." Naruto replied, his eyebrows knitted together. What did his deceased teammate have to do with this?

"She is with... Akatsuki."

* * *

"Achoo!" Sakura sneezed and rubbed her nose. "Any one of you got a tissue?" She asked her travelling companions. The pinkette recieved no response. "Can't believe I got stuck with these two douche-bags..." She grumbled. "Wish I got Hidan."

It was annoying that they had to travel all the way to the hideout on foot. And they had to do it secretly too so no one would see the Kazekage in a clay bird's mouth that was following them. But, then again, because they were a part of this 'super terrifying organisation', they had to be sneaky all the time.

"Can't believe you forgot to bring a sealing scroll." Sakura said to Deidara. The man shot her an evil glare but she blew a kiss in response - not affected by his efforts. The trio had been travelling for a couple of days and were almost to the hideout.

Once they made it into the hidden cave, Sakura shouted her usual greeting. "Lovelies, we're back!" She sang. "And we brought you guys a treat!"

Deidara's bird spat out the Kazekage and shrunk back to action figure size. The other Akatsuki members appeared as holograms in the hideouts. Sakura wished that they had let Madara, or Tobi, join the organisation but they deemed him 'not ready'.

All members were here - all eleven of them. The cherry blossom took a seat on the ground as the Gedo Statue was summoned. She would have joined them but only ten were required for the jutsu and she was voted out because her "unnecessary comments annoyed everyone."

 _Bastards._ She thought. _So what if I asked Itachi who was better in bed: Kisame or Deidara? I was just making conversation._

 **"Sakura..."** The pinkette smirked at the voice in her head. It had been a while.

 **"Madara-sensei, you're connecting to me now of all times? To what do I owe this disturbance?"** She asked.

 **"Your Leaf comrades are on their way to the hideout. You should be careful."** The masked man warned his student.

 **"Why? I could kill them with a flick."** The female Sharingan user responded.

 **"That's not why I told you to be careful. Naruto and Kakashi are on their way there. Do you know what this means?"**

Sakura smirked again. **"Looks like it's my turn to capture a jinchuriki. And meet some old friends."**

* * *

After Kankuro told everyone about Sakura, everyone was rushed out of the room. Moments later, he died and Naruto was left feeling utterly confused - and also betrayed if what the Puppet User said was true.

Naruto didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. Well, until he saw it with his own eyes.

There was no way in hell that Sakura was with the Akatsuki. She was dead - they didn't find a body but - it was said that there wasn't any way she could escape.

The blonde, Sai, Yamato, Kakashi, Temari and Chiyo were jumping from branch to branch. They were following Pakkun as he had found the hideout. Temari had decided to go with them instead of mourning for her brother. It was, of course, out of revenge for his death and no one could change her mind.

Sai moved closer to Naruto. "Does it put you in distress that your former teammate - who was presumably dead- is in a criminal organisation?" He asked.

The jinchuriki rolled his eyes. "No, I love it." He responded.

"Okay." The boy was clueless to sarcasm.

Was his teammate really with the Akatsuki? _Why? Why would she join them?_ Naruto couldn't find an answer to these questions. If what Kankuro said was true, then he would ask Sakura. Face-to-face.

The Nine-Tails' jinchuriki was not the only one who was greatly affected by the news of the Cherry Blossom. Kakashi was also wondering why she would join that group. Maybe there was some sort of curse on Team Seven. First Sasuke left, and now Sakura. But, what confused - and intrigued - Kakashi the most was that his students were all on different sides. Naruto was with Konoha, Sasuke was with Orochimaru and Sakura was with the Akatsuki.

It sounded weird to say together. _Sakura is with the Akatsuki._ The silver-haired jonin wondered where everything went wrong. He wondered why fate was such a bitch and made this happen. To him, it was pretty obvious that Team Seven was broken. Maybe broken beyond repair. But, Naruto would obviously be determined as ever to bring Sasuke and Sakura back. However, how would the two rogues react to meeting each other...?

Kakashi had already sent word with one of his ninkens back to Konoha. They would, at some point, get word back from them to see their next course of action. The jonin wondered how everyone would react to the news.

* * *

 _This is a riot._ Sakura dryly commented as she let out a bored sigh. It took ages for the extraction to finish and she had nothing to do. The leader had let Kisame and Itachi delay the Leaf Village ninja - much to Sakura's dismay. But, what she loved was not just the fact that her former teammate and sensei were on their way here but, on the other squad, there was one person whom Sakura wanted to have fun with.

 **"Neji Hyuga."** Inner seethed. **"Let's spit on him."**

The pinkette laughed at the nostalgic statement.

Once the extraction of the jinchuriki was done, Deidara thought it would be hilarious to sit on the dead body of the Kazekage. Sakura only rolled her eyes at his antics and Sasori made no comment on his actions.

"They're taking so long, man!" The blonde angrily shouted. He shuffled on top of Gaara.

"Long?" The cherry blossom snorted. "Something you can't relate to." She ignored his middle finger which was directed at her.

Suddenly, the boulder at the front of cave began to crumble and Sakura saw lightning sparkle around it. She believed that Kakashi must have used his Lightning Blade to break it.

Once all the smoke cleared, she saw six figures appear. She recognised her former teammates and the Kazekage's sister but the other three were strangers to her. Actually, the other three were strangers to her as well.

Sakura loved their faces turn from shocked to confusion. To add fuel to the fire, she wore her slashed forehead protector in her hair to keep it up.

"Where's the other group?" Deidara asked.

"Fighting the traps." The Leaf rogue replied and her ex-teammates continued to stare at her. Kakashi had a literal and metaphorical mask over his face but Naruto, he was outwardly displaying his emotions.

"Sakura-chan..." He whispered and the girl cringed at the honorific.

"You guys can deal with them for a second, right?" She asked the other Akatsuki members. Before her teammates could reply, she used her Cherry Blossom Transportation Technique. Her body slowly dissolved into the flower which she shared her name with. The pink petals spread out and left the cave - but only to meet with a certain 'genius' of Konoha.

* * *

Two blue hemi-spheres rotated against each other furiously on the green plains. Neji Hyuga was currently fighting the trap that had been set off, a clone of himself.

It was tough. This clone had all of his moves so there seemed to be no way to win. But, he would not give up. This was a life or death situation and he was a shinobi. If he lost here, what would become of the others?

Before he could proceed to attack the trap, it paused. The genius stopped for a moment and flashed his Byakugan. He noticed a person with a black cloak, with red clouds standing to the side, watching him.

The clone sunk to the ground and Neji turned to the criminal but, only to notice it was his former comrade. She was smiling devilishly, her hand on her face and pulling the skin around her eye.

"Sakura Haruno." He made it a point to not show any emotion. However, inwardly, he was shocked. "So it's true."

"Believe it." The cherry blossom mocked her teammate. "And way to state the obvious. You really are a genius."

"Neji, what's going on?" Gai asked through the headset the Hyuga had.

"I've come face-to-face with Sakura." He responded. "I'll capture her and bring her in."

"Wait!" Tenten shouted. "She's part of the Akatsuki! You're going to need some help!"

"Against Sakura Haruno?" He snorted and got into his stance. His opponent narrowed her eyes, her evil expression gone and she was not going to make any jokes now. "I think I'll be fine."

A smirk. A smirk graced his features. A Goddamn cocky-ass smirk! Sakura was going to lose it. She was going to be nice (sort of) at first but now, she was going to make him feel pain.

Her former friend did not make a move. "Are you waiting for me to strike first?" She asked, her own smirk making its way onto her face. Raising her right hand into the air, Sakura sang. "It's your funeral."

Wood shot out of the ground at the Leaf ninja, and he jumped back. Although he faltered from the shock, he was able to withstand his ground. Once the branches shot at him, he quickly began attacking with his Gentle Fist to destroy the Wood Style jutsu. Sakura knew that he was a fast fighter so she had something else up her sleeve.

Neji finished disposing of the branches and looked at the rogue ninja. He looked right at her Sharingan. In a split-second, he was put into a genjutsu where he was trapped in the middle of a tree as it was on fire. The flames were rising and he quickly tried to break the illusion.

He succeeded but he woke up in the real world with Sakura's Wood Style wrapped around him, immobilizing him. He couldn't move and he didn't know a way to win.

"...What did you do?!" He growled at Sakura, his teeth clenched and sweat appearing around his face. He began struggling, but the branches were to strong.

The pinkette took out one of her daggers that were hidden in her sleeves. She licked the blade and transferred her chakra to it. A sharp blue light danced around the weapon.

"Do you remember our last mission?" She asked as she slowly began to walk towards him. "My eyes were slashed as well as my arm. I'm better now, I have these." The Sharingan flashed in her eyes, the two tomoe spinning wildly.

Neji made no response of shock since he had seen them moments ago.

Sakura was right in front of him now. He looked almost afraid, whereas she looked like she was on cloud nine.

Without warning, she sliced her dagger up at his right arm and it fell to the ground. The genius groaned at the attack, his eyes wide.

"Your eyes are next." Sakura said. "At first, I thought I was going to take them because, you were right, I am a disgrace of a ninja. But, I've realised something. The reason that you're such a stubborn prick is because of these." She pointed her dagger at his Byakugan and he squirmed. "They're like a symbol to you Hyuga which apparently gives you bastards the confidence to act like asses all the time. So, I'd rather not have them in this world."

Sakura roughly grabbed onto his head so he would stop moving away. Without hesitation, she got rid of Neji's eyes. To add pain to his squad, she turned on his microphone so his teammate could hear his screaming.

"Neji-kun!" It was Tenten. "What's happening?! Neji!"

The others also shouted out things along the same lines as Tenten so Sakura ripped the headset off and threw it away. She punched Neji in the stomach and the branches broke as he flew away.

He was unconscious now and Sakura began healing his eyes and arm. She wanted him to live with the pain of being even more of an outsider to his clan. Without the Byakugan, he was not a Hyuga.

Once she finished healing him, Sakura fled to where she could sense Naruto, Kakashi, Deidara and one of her replacements fighting. Now, she was going to capture her former teammate and extract his beast to create her new world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 6**

Deidara was getting pissed off. The pale guy with the scroll was throwing birds at his birds, exploding them in mid-air. While the blonde Akatsuki member admired the art, he was mostly offended at his art being copied by some nobody.

And if that wasn't enough, Kakashi was able to make swirls to an unknown location around him. He had been able to dodge one, but his art didn't. Also, Deidara found it funny how the jinchuriki screaming for his friend was only chasing him while his comrades were doing the heavy lifting. Maybe Deidara had finally found the weakest jinchuriki? That means that the other Akatsuki members wouldn't be impressed with his capture. How frustrating.

Suddenly, the wind began to pick up around the clay bird and cherry blossoms danced around, forming into Sakura. "Hey!" The male criminal yelled. "Just because you have some **fancy shmancy** transportation technique, doesn't mean you get to stand on my art!"

Sakura gave him a dirty look. "We're going down. I need you to stall the jonin and extra because I want to fight the jinchuriki."

"No way!" He yelled. "I get the jinchuriki."

"No, you don't." The look she gave him... Let's just say that if Deidara wasn't a criminal, he would've handed over all of his ryo. "I get Naruto." She jumped off the bird and landed onto the ground gracefully.

"S..." Naruto started as he stared at his friend. Kakashi stood next to him while the replacement was standing a bit further back. Sakura observed that her former teammate was displaying his emotion outwardly but her former sensei only looked at her as an enemy.

"I'm guessing you guys have some questions." The pinkette smirked. "Well, shoot." No one said anything. They only stood, Naruto was probably still shocked, the extra seemed like he wasn't a talker and the teacher was probably waiting for the right time to strike. "Okay, I'll just start with what happened on that mission." Sakura began telling the story. "So, we went to a town for a mission, blah blah blah, and the intel was wrong. We got chased by bandits, I lost my arm and eyes. We got trapped in a dome, the so-called 'genius' Neji Hyuuga - who you may want to get help for by the way - couldn't figure out what to do. So, I saved them and died."

"But you didn't..." Her former teammate replied.

"Yes. I did." Sakura said. "However, I was reborn. Not exactly but whatever. Then, I received some... gifts, shall we call them, and I found my purpose in life. And about these gifts..." The cherry blossom flashed her Sharingan on. This caused for some attention on her eyes. "Pretty?" She asked. "Or do you prefer...?" She raised her arm and wood slowly grew out of the ground. "You know, I don't know which I like best. But I know which one I'm going to kill you with..." The last bit was directed at Kakashi, as she looked right at him. "Just hear the news. **Kakashi of the Sharingan killed by Sakura of the Sharingan**."

"Why did you not come back?" Naruto asked, desperately trying to thaw the ice Sakura had etched onto her face. "We were so depressed after you..." He trailed off.

"Ha!" The pinkette laughed. "I assume they never told you, but the rest of the Konoha Twelve (excluding Ino) hated me." She began to histerically laugh now. "I mean, they talked shit behind my back and when it came to face to face, they were as silent as the replacement." Sakura waved at Sai. "Nice to meet you, by the way." She continued. "And don't get me started on Team Seven..." The kunoichi scoffed. "Sasuke's a bastard who thinks Orochimaru can teach him to kill Itachi - who is much better looking (just thought I should throw that in there). And you two are trying to save a dead jinchuriki. Like, come on, Naruto, just give yourself up. We can take the Kyuubi out of you. Granted you'll die but... minor." She smiled wickedly.

"Sakura-chan!" The jinchuriki yelled. "I don't understand... Why? Why would you join the Akatsuki?"

The rogue narrowed her eyes at her former teammate. "Because they offered me what you couldn't. They gave me what you didn't!" She felt herself heat up and began counting down from 10 in her head. "You... All you motherfuckers in Konoha abandoned me. So, I left." In a quick movement, Sakura appeared right behind Naruto using her transportation technique. "And - one day - I'll return. And burn Konoha to the fucking ground!"

She punched.

He flew.

The jonin reacted quickly. Forming many hand signs in a second, a fireball was blasted at Sakura. The pinkette simply teleported away.

Naruto had jumped back, recovering from the blow to his back though, not completely. _She attacked me without a second thought..._ He stared at his former friend and pondered about how he could save her.

"Fuck you, Sakura-bitch!" Deidara yelled and threw a barrage or clay birds down to the battlefield, exploding them all.

"Stay out of this!" Sakura growled, furiously. Creating a wooden shield, she protected them all. Through the use of genjutsu, she put her stupid fellow Akatsuki member to sleep. He and his clay bird dropped to the ground. Suddenly, Sai had appeared behind the cherry blossom and swiped at her with his blade. She swiftly countered with her right dagger, blocking the attack. Eye to eye with this percular pale boy, Sakura used the same genjutsu she did on Deidara to him. Sai dropped to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said. "It's just us now. Get ready to die." Forming a giant wood pillar to boost herself up into the air, Sakura looked at the puny bodies of her former teammates below. She threw wood pillar after wood pillar at them to which they dodged them all but barely. Eventually, Sakura began throwing boulders at them, however Naruto was using clones to fool her and to Kakashi, this wasn't much of a challenge.

It was annoying her. She didn't really know what 'it' was but she did know she was annoyed. No. It wasn't because she had seen her former team. It wasn't because they replaced her so easily. No, it wasn't because they claimed to be upset even though they treated her like crap.

Fuck. She was mad.

In pure rage, Sakura jumped off of the pillar and slammed her chakra infused right-hand onto the ground. Due to the cells from the God of Shinobi, Sakura's punch was unrealisticly powerful.

A colossal cloud of earth appeared as soon as the pinkette punched the ground. Once the cloud cleared up, Sakura realised that she was alone on the battlefield. _How ironic._ Seriously, though? Where had they gone? She couldn't sense them. Scratching her head, Sakura dreaded the moment that Deidara would wake up. He was gonna piss her off about letting Naruto get away. Fuck. Screw Deidara. Madara was going to be pissed at her. _Failure is not tolerated._

Suddenly, a swirl appeared behind Sakura and she jumped away quickly. From out of the perculiar distortion, Kakashi and Naruto jumped out. "Kamui." Sakura whispered. But, it couldn't be. _That's Madara-sensei's ability. They... both have one eye... No way._

"Sakura Haruno." The jonin said. "You're coming with us. Comply or we'll need to use force."

"No. Naruto's coming with me. Sorry, sensei, but you need to die here." The cherry blossom took out her daggers. "And I'll take your sharingan as a reward." The former teacher and pupil lunged for each other.

 **"Sensei's going to train with me. I'm so happy."**

The Akatsuki member blinked. _Who's there?_

 **"He usually never has time."** _The voice sounds so familar..._ **"I need to get stronger to bring Sasuke-kun back with Naruto."**

"Arghh!" Sakura cried once Kakashi struck a blow to her stomach. She tumbled backwards, landing onto the ground. Swiftly, she stood back up. _Don't lose your cool, Sakura._

Infusing chakra into her fist, she slammed her hand to the ground. The earth crumbled towards her former sensei and he jumped out of the way. Sakura wanted to make it hard for them to dodge.

 _Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence._

A forest was made just from the pinkette's jutsu. Wide-eyed and alert, Naruto began dodging the branches that seemed to be attacking him. One caught his foot and tripped him up, and multiple more began to wrap aroumd him. In a quick movement, Kakashi used a lightning attack to destroy the branches around his student. The two Leaf ninja began making their way to the nearest exit.

 _Not yet. Fire Style: Flame Bombs._

The Akatsuki member set fire to her forest and it quickly spread. Her former teammates found it difficult to run and she enjoyed the sight of watching the panic in their eyes. Eventually, the two made it out and Sakura pouted at the outcome. The length of this fight annoyed her. Shouldn't she have caught them by now?

 **"I just want to protect them."** She heard the voice say in her head.

"No, I want to kill them." She said.

This whole predicament... The situation... It was all just... annoying.

Sakura felt mad. Why couldn't ANYTHING go her way?! Sasuke-kun left, Naruto left, Kakashi-sensei left, they all left!

Finding this new rage, Sakura activated her Sharingan and immediately began charging at the remains of Team Seven. They were shocked at her sudden attack but dodged nonetheless, just avoiding the rubble from her attack. However, they couldn't avoid a wood block being striked at both of their chests.

Suddenly, a Kamui swirl appeared and Sakura found herself getting sucked into it. Cursing herself for falling for such a stupid trick, the cherry blossom waited for what would end up on the other side.

* * *

Once again, Sakura found herself in that same bedroom she was in months ago. This only meant that it was Madara who used the Kamui on her. Fair enough, he was standing on the other side of the room.

"Why did you do that?" Sakura began. "I was going to capture a jinchuriki."

"I can sense your thoughts, Sakura. I could see what you were thinking." Madara replied, walking over to her. The cherry blossom did not expect the slap to her face, but once she felt it, she stopped the urge to hit back - knowing she would lose. "You don't fight when you are that angry. Imagine if you killed Naruto."

"Sorry..." The pinkette muttered, feeling bad. Feeling a sudden sting at her eyes, Sakura pushed back the sense of tears. _No, I don't do that anymore._

She felt two arms wrap around her and she leaned into the comfort of her sensei. Yes, this was the only person who cared about her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 7**

"Settle down." Tsunade said. She was sitting in her office with the Konoha Twelve (excluding Sakura, Sasuke and Neji) and Sai. Unfortunately, the news about Sakura, the terrible news about her being in league with the Akatsuki, was true. The cluster of chunins - and genin in Naruto's case - were making a lot of noise. The Godaime had just told them all about Sakura. Naruto, Sai, Lee and Tenten were already in the know. But, to the others, this came as a shock.

"What?!" Ino cried. "Tsunade-sama, this cannot be true. Forehead would never-"

"Of course it's true." Kiba interrupted. "First it was Sasuke and now Sakura. Team Seven is-"

"Is what, Kiba?" Naruto dared him to continue. The Inuzuka shrugged his shoulders in response, not wanting to anger the jinchuriki.

"I can't believe what she did to Neji-kun..." Tenten put her hand to her forehead, still not recovered from the horrifying sounds she heard over the headset. Lee put his hand on her shoulder in a consoling manner.

"He's fine, Tenten-chan." Her teammate said. Of course, he didn't have any eyes or an arm. Although, there were some arrangements in the hospital for Neji to receive a prosthetic arm.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama?" Hinata spoke from beside Shino. "Does this make Sakura... an S-class rogue ninja?" She asked.

"Yes." The Fifth said.

" But Oba-chan-" Naruto exclaimed.

"But nothing, Naruto. She is a part of a S-class criminal organisation. She is linked in with the kidnapping of the Kazekage and the murder of his brother." The group began to loudly speak once again. Some were insulting Sakura, others were displaying their shock and some stayed quiet. Like Ino.

Yes, she was shocked. Yes, she was mad at Sakura. But, maybe everyone here was at fault a little. Ino wasn't stupid. _I'm just a terrible friend._ The Team Ten Kunoichi thought. She knew of what the others said about her. And, she knew that Sakura knew of it. But, she made no move to tell her. The blonde did try to defend her best friend sometimes, though she didn't try hard enough.

"Quiet!" Tsunade yelled. "Everyone is dismissed except Naruto and Sai." The group left, however Ino lingered outside the door, listening in on what was going on. "Temari of the Sand has received some intel from Sasori." The Godaime began. The battle with Temari, Chiyo and Yamato against the puppet master resulted in the former's win. Although, Chiyo did die after reincarnating Gaara. In his last words, Sasori had announced that Sakura was supposed to meet an Akatsuki spy for Orochimaru at Tenchi Bridge in 10 days.

After relaying this information to the remains of Team Seven, Naruto's eyebrows jumped to his hairline. "You mean, Sakura-chan is going to meet someone... who could know the whereabouts of Sasuke?"

"Yes." Tsunade replied. "And I want to send Team Seven to observe. It could be a trap."

"We'll do it!" The genin exclaimed.

"But, with only you two and Yamato, I don't know if that's wise..." The Fifth Hokage put her fingers on her chin, searching for an alternative. It was just then when Ino barged into the room.

"Tsunade-sama, I apologise for eavesdropping but I'll go with them." She said. "I have knowledge in medical ninjutsu so I can prove useful on the mission. Alongside this, my Yamanaka clan heritage allows me to telepathically relay information. Thus, my skills are appropriate with this type of mission." The girl tried to sell herself as much as she could and it seemed to work.

"Alright. Yamato, did you catch that?"

The man poofed into the room. "Yes, Godaime-sama." He said.

"Okay, temporary Team Seven. Get ready and leave as soon as you can. You only have 7 days remaining to make it to Tenchi Bridge and be prepared to run into the Akatsuki, Orochumaru and Sasuke and Sakura. Dismissed!"

The newly formed team left the office, making plans to meet at the Lead Village Gate.

As soon as they left, Tsunade slammed her desk with her finger, cursing as she did so.

* * *

"Ready for round 2?" Hidan smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the pinkette. She only rolled her eyes and finished changing.

"I have somewhere to be." She responded, hearing a sigh in response. Paying no mind to him, Sakura left the hideout. Eventually, she made it to one of Madara's secret underground training spots. It was one of the usual areas that she trained in with her sensei. He was already there, waiting for her.

"Madara-sensei, I was hoping to ask you something." Sakura began.

"What is it?" The man with the mask asked.

"Kakashi, he used the same ability as you. And, you both have one Sharingan each. I put two and two together..." She trailed off, wondering if she was being too invasive with her sensei.

"Sakura, yes. It is true. I gave Kakashi his Sharingan. But, I wish to not speak of it." He said.

"Sorry..." She mumbled. "One more thing-"

"What is it?" Her sensei was really annoyed now and Sakura apologised once more.

"I have to leave soon to Tenchi Bridge. It was something Sasori asked me to do before he died." The rogue ninja explained.

"Yes, I am well aware of this." Madara replied. "But, you'll be able to get there quickly. So, forget about that for now."

"Yes, sensei." Sakura said, getting into a stance, now ready to train.

If she did good, she had a chance of getting a hug.

* * *

 _This is bad._ Ino thought to herself. Sai had insulted Sasuke and Sakura a few times and Naruto was livid.

"Sakura is the ugly bitch who decided to betray her village. Why would you want to save her?" Sai asked. Even though he insulted the rogue ninja with such venom, his delivery was still very monotone, his voice robotic.

All Naruto could see was red when he looked at the Root member. "I'll destroy you!" He lunged at the pale boy but Ino put her hand out, stopping him.

"Sai-san," She began. "I'll hope you'll forgive Naruto for his manners. He doesn't want you to think of him like that." She smiled at him. Not knowing how to respond, Sai smiled back. Only to fall backwards as Ino quickly punched him.

"Ugh!" He cried as he fell onto his back, metres away from where Ino punched him. Naruto and Yamato's eyebrows jumped up to their hairlines as they observed the attack.

"I, however, don't give a fuck about what you think of me." The blonde kunoichi said. "Speak about Forehead like that again and it will be more than a punch."

 _Ino's a badass..._ Naruto thought as Yamato made a cage and threatened to lock them up.

* * *

 _Goddamn, stupid-ass Sasori..._ Sakura was complaining the entire way to Tenchi Bridge. She didn't want to go through with this meeting in the first place. However, she lost a bet and was forced into doing whatever Sasori wanted.

 **"He's dead though. Why are you still doing this?"** Inner Sakura asked.

 **"Because I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"** An annoyingly familiar voice shouted in Sakura's head.

"Because..." The pinkette started to think of an answer. "I want to know what Orochimaru is up to. Call it curiosity." She told her Inner.

 **"That better be the reason."**

* * *

Days had passed and Sakura finally made it to Tenchi Bridge. She made it just in time.

Standing at the centre of the bridge, she waited for whomever this spy was. In the corner of her mind, she wondered if she would see Sasuke. She hadn't seen him in a long time, not since he left her on that bench with no care in the world for her.

 _I wonder how strong he has gotten..._ Sakura thought.

The sound of footsteps on the bridge threw her out of her head. Shock crowded her features, mirroring the person opposite her.

"Kabuto Yakushi." She said.

At the same time, he said "Sakura Haruno."

"Why am I surprised? Once a spy, always a spy, right?" Sakura asked.

"I never thought you would join the Akatsuki. You were just a little girl when we first met, clinging to Sasuke-kun wherever you were." Kabuto smirked at her.

"Let's hurry this up, I have somewhere to be." She said, tapping her foot impatiently but really, she just didn't like him and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke-kun and I often change hideouts to avoid attention. Orochimaru has many spread out across the Shinobi world." Kabuto began. His eyes narrowed for a split-second but then he couldn't stop a smirk from gracing his features.

All of a sudden, Ororchimaru appeared behind the spy. "My, my, my... Little cherry blossom." The silver-haired man jumped to Sakura's side.

"You were followed?" Sakura asked, boredly. In a quick action, a dagger was produced from her sleeve and she swiped at Kabuto. Undoing his previous move, he slid over to Orochimaru.

"You knew?" He asked.

"What spy has the one person we're trying to avoid follow him?" The pinkette asked.

"Little cherry blossom is all grown up... Delicious." Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue. "Why don't you let your friends out of hiding?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Then, she felt it. Four chakra signatures were hiding behind her. How could she have missed it? Two were very familliar. The other two, not so much.

Quickly, four Konoha ninja jumped to the bridge. Sakura realised that she was surrounded, bang in the centre of the bridge.

"How did you know about this?" Sakura asked her former teammate. "It was that bastard Sasori. He told you before he died. Motherfucker!"

"So, it does seem like she is part of the Akatsuki. It wasn't an act." Kabuto said to Orochimaru. "Looks like Sasuke-kun's team is broken for good."

"Don't talk about him!" Naruto yelled at the spy, his eyes turned red.

"Fore- ...Sakura." Ino whispered loud enough for her former best friend to look at her. And with such hate.

 _I could try and capture Naruto..._ Sakura pondered. _But this is too much attention, I better leave._

"See you around." Sakura said, forming a hand sign as she dissolved into cherry blossoms.

"No!" Naruto screamed.

"That's the second teammate you let go." Kabuto said to him. In repsonse, Naruto unleashed a tail, furious with what the spy said.

Amid the chaos around her, Ino noticed something. She could still feel Sakura's chakra. It was close by, as if she was waiting. She couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.

As the bridge broke, Ino darted off into the forest, mentally apologising to her team. But there were three of them, so they would be fine, right?

The Yamanaka girl raced to where she could feel Sakura's chakra. She had to bring her back, she had to!

* * *

The Cherry Blossom Transportation Technique was very useful for a quick getaway. However, it had some limitations. First, there was a radius in which Sakura could travel and, second, there was a time limit after she used it, making her wait before utilising it a second time.

So, she leaned on a tree and waited. She could have ran on and jumped from tree to tree but she wasn't bothered. She didn't feel like it.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted, finally reaching where her former friend was waiting.

"Ino." Sakura said upon seeing her. "What are you doing here? Go home."

"I'm not leaving, not without you." She stood, rooted to the spot, a look of fierce determination was spread across her face. "We thought you were dead..." Her voice slightly broke. "We sent a squad to see if you were there-"

"And you didn't find me. Blah, blah, blah. Shocked, right?" Sakura rudely interrupted her. "Let me put it in words a blonde will understand, me no go Konoha. Understand?"

"Why? Why join the Akatsuki?" The Yamanaka asked. "Do you really want to capture bijuu? Extracting them kills the host, you know? Do you really want Naruto to die?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. How did she know that Narutk was a jinchuriki? Did he tell her? It was a secret that was kept by the heads of Konoha, why would Ino know that?

"I know that extraction kills the host. Remember Gaara? He's supposed to be as dead as his brother." Sakura replied. "The Akatsuki gives people what they want. But you wouldn't understand, none of you Konoha scum would!"

"I'm taking you back home!" Ino shouted, getting into a battle stance.

"You're going to have to drag my dead body back then!"

Immediately, branches shot out of the tree, latching onto Ino's body. With a chakra scalpal, the blonde sliced away the branches and jumped to safety on the ground.

However, more blocks of wood shot out of the ground, restraining Ino's arms. Then, her legs were bound together- making her fall to the floor - before a long branch wrapped around her entire body.

Dagger in hand, Sakura sauntered towards her restricted friend. She was ready to kill the Konoha chunin now.

 **"I'm not going to fall behind you, Forehead."**

 **"Bring it on, Pig."**

But, Ino wasn't with them... Ino constantly defended her. Ino was her best friend.

Sakura was now standing right infront of the blue-eyed girl. Her former friend stared up at her, eyes wide.

Even though she was a part of this criminal organisation, even though she had severed her bonds with the Hidden Leaf, she still loved Ino.

Ino was always there for her. Ino was there for her when Sasuke left. Ino was there for her during the Chunin Exams. Ino was there for her when her parents died.

 _How can I kill her?_

Sakura put her dagger back in her sleeve. "I don't want to kill you." She said before dissolving into hundreds of cherry blossoms.

As soon as she left, the wood wrapped around Ino slithered off like a snake and freed her. The blonde shook her head, confused as to what just happen. Sakura had looked at her with intent to kill and then... What she said at the end... Was Sakura still in there? Did she still care? Was she hiding behind this terrifyingly powerful persona?

Ino didn't know how long she had been sitting there when Naruto and Yamato had found her.

"Ino-chan, are you okay?" The Dobe asked her.

"I saw Sakura." She replied.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, fearfully.

"She almost killed me." Ino said. "Almost. She spared me." She looked at Naruto, her eyes wide. "She's still there." A lone tear slid down her cheek.

"Please, we need to discuss what to do next." Yamato interrupted them. "We need to deal with Sai."

"What"s wrong with Sai?" Ino asked. Her teammates exchanged sad looks. "What happened? Where is he?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **A/N It has come to my attention that I may not have been clear about Sakura's Sharingan. Both of her eyes were slashed and Tobi gave her two Sharingan eyes. She has two black eyes now. I'm sorry if I confused any of you because of this.**

 **Chapter 8**

The temporary Team Seven walked through the gates of Konoha, back from their mission at Tenchi Bridge. Somehow, Sai was with them too as he seemed to have had a change of heart upon seeing Naruto's bond with Sasuke. A bond that he wanted Naruto to prove to him existed.

Ino was sad that they weren't able to bring Sasuke back but... he was so powerful. He had shocked her so easily within a few seconds and had no difficulty attempting to kill Naruto. They were lucky that Orochumaru decided to spare them in hopes that they would kill more Akatsuki members.

But, she could still feel that horrible aura that surrounded Sakura. When her former best friend was towering over her, killing intent being radiated from her body, Ino felt that, if she wasn't already immbolised, that she wouldn't have been able to move.

Sakura had demonstrated her abilities in Wood Style but hadn't utilised her Sharingan. Imagine how much more frightening she would have looked with red, blood-thirsty eyes.

Sakura would be hell in human form.

* * *

The next day, Ino gave her mission statement to the Hokage along with her team. Tsunade pressed her lips into a thin line upon hearing both Ino's and Sai's desertion but she didn't comment on it. And then, the blonde had left to drown her sorrows by eating her weight in dumplings.

 _She's so strong._ The Team Ten Kunoichi thought as she pushed her last dumpling to the tip of the stick. _With the way I am now, how can I bring her back?_ Suddenly, the dumpling fell to the table and rolled onto the floor. Normally, Ino would've thrown a tantrum and cry at the loss of her beloved food - Anko would be disappointed - but she was so deep in thought that she barely even noticed it fall.

 _What can I do?_ An idea struck her mind. It was so crazy that she immediately pushed it away. But, it popped back up again, refusing to be turned away, and she couldn't ignore it.

 _If I want to bring Forehead back... Then I have to!_ The blonde ran out, stepping on the forgotten dumpling as she did so.

* * *

The next day, Ino was once again at the Hokage's office. But not by request this time.

She had cut her hair, most of it. Some of her blonde locks remained at shoulder length. _It got in the way for Sakura..._

"I want to be your apprentice!" She shouted fiercely at Tsunade.

The Godaime narrowed her eyes at the chunin. "Why?"

"I have to get stronger, I have to bring Forehead back!" Ino began. "I was so... weak to her. I couldn't do anything, and I know that I can't be weak when I drag her back here."

"And if she doesn't want to come back?" The Fifth asked. "Will all this training go to waste?"

"No!" She was quick to respond. "She will come back, I'm not accepting 'no' as an answer." Clenching her fists, she asked again. "Will you train me?"

Tsunade let a small smile appear on her face. If Ino was willing to bring back her old student - and she could also have a new student - who was she to say no? Ino had that same fire in her eyes, that determination, that led to the Godaime teaching Sakura.

"It won't be easy. Prepare yourself."

* * *

"Oops." Sakura said as a kunai she had been swinging on her finger shot off, almost stabbing Deidara. He looked at her, fuming. "Sorry. You were in the way."

"You bit-" The blonde began to shriek, only to be interrupted by their leader - Pein (or Leader-sama).

His holographic form appeared to the group of Akatsuki members. Only Deidara and Sakura were there for real, the others projected themselves into the hideout.

"Now that Sasori is dead, I have allowed Tobi to join the organisation." Pein began.

"Tobi thanks you, Leader-sama!" The man with the orange mask shouted, saluting the Rinnegan user.

Inwardly, Sakura smirked. All of the fools in the Akatsuki didn't know that it was Madara underneath that mask, that Tobi possessed the Sharingan and that they were all being played by the clown-like member of the group.

"Hidan, Kakuzu." Pein got their attention. He instructed them to collect more bodies as more money was needed. The immortal duo phased away, the Jashin worshipper mumbling something about running out of condoms. The cherry blossom rolled her eyes. _He thinks that's the reason I won't have sex with him..._

 **"Yes, the real reason you are no longer acting like a slag is because you're stropping about not being able to capture a jinchuriki."** Inner Sakura explained. Outer Sakura cringed at the accuracy.

"Sakura," The leader turned to her. "Zetsu has been keeping an eye on Yuguto Nii and she has been travelling around in the outskirts of the Land of Lightning, moving further away each day. Your assignment is to capture her, alive."

 _Yes, finally!_

 **"I'll- I'll do my best!"** A familiar voice rang in her head. **"Shannaro!"** The pinkette cringed at the old battle cry she used to scream.

"Understood." She replied, containing her excitement.

Before Deidara could complain, it was announced that he would be travelling with Tobi from now on while Sakura would be travelling solo.

 _Fine by me. No one to get in the way._ The cherry blossom thought.

* * *

"What, Shikamaru-kun?" Ino asked, opening one of her eyes. She was currently meditating and the disturbance was unwanted. She needed to have accurate chakra control to store her chakra. No distractions.

"You're pushing yourself." The genius said to her.

"I'm training." She replied. "What? A girl can't try?"

The lazy boy sighed, not wanting to get into an arguement about gender. "How troublesome..." He imagined receiving an earful from Ino. "Tsunade-sama has called us for a meeting." He informed her.

"What, Team Ten?" The blonde questioned to which her teammate shook his head.

"Something about the Akatsuki's movements."

Ino froze. It had been a while since her run in with Sakura. She had constantly been training, already having a bit of knowledge with Tsunade's teachings. Did she really want to get into contact already?

 _I need to take every chance to see her._ Ino thought, running out of her house to the Hokage Tower. Unfortunately, she left Shikamaru behind who scratched his head before following after her.

* * *

"Akatsuki!" Someone yelled, terror filling their voice. Sakura lazily strolled through the small village, not a care in the world about the people screaming in fear around her. Well, she didn't care before someone decided to throw a rock at her.

She disposed of him quickly.

"Monster!" A woman yelled, cradling her dead son's head. The rogue ninja payed no mind to her.

Sakura had realised that her money was running out. So, naturally, she stole some from a random village on the way to capture the Two-Tails. She wanted to treat herself to some dumplings to fire her up for the upcoming battle. And if that meant she had to kill a bunch of nobodies, then she was fine with that.

Ten minutes and a village burnt to the ground later, Sakura was running through the forest, jumping from tree to tree with a pack of dumplings concealed within her cloak. She had learnt to savour them over the years.

 **"Oi, bitch! Stop dreaming about dumplings and focus on those three chakra signatures!"** Inner Sakura said, getting Sakura's attention.

It was this annoying itch in her head. Three chakra signatures - one decent and two fairly large - were moving behind her. But, they were so far away that she presumed they didn't know she was there due to the fact that she had to hide her chakra signature every time she travelled.

Knowing that she wouldn't be at peace without knowing who they were, the pinkette sunk into the bark of a tree, hiding herself. _With such large chakra, what idiots wouldn't conceal themselves?_ She thought.

She waited for a while, the only enjoyment she had was what she thought of in her mind. Upon capturing the Nibi, Sakura decided that she was going to shove it in Deidara's face for three days instead of two.

Once the chakra signatures were closing in, the cherry blossom prepared herself for the reveal.

And what a shock it was.

"Sasuke-kun, aren't you going a bit fast?" Kabuto asked. The Uchiha made no response.

"He's excited, Kabuto." Orochimaru responded. "He heard his girlfriend is near."

"She's not my girlfriend." The former Konoha genin decided to speak this time.

"Right, right..." The medic sighed. "I'm just glad she killed a lot of people there. Saved me the job of doing it myself to collect some bodies."

Sakura wanted to laugh. They were searching for her. When she was young, she would have done anything for _Sasuke-kun_ to look for her. Now, she thought it was funny.

 _Hmm._ Sakura assessed Sasuke's looks. He still looked good, his hair needed some work though. But, as a single woman, she did appreciate the bare chest. It really got her going.

 **"Ew."** Inner Sakura commented. Outer Sakura shrugged in response.

Oh, she knew she had to keep under the radar... But, to hell with that! She already destroyed a village, what would having a little fun with Sasuke do?

Sakura raised her chakra level slightly and immediately saw Sasuke's facial expression change. His eyes snapped to her concealed form on the tree. Narrowing his eyebrows, he noticed something strange on the tree. Was it the pattern on the bark? Was it thicker on some part? Was it the pink-haired girl smirking at him while wearing an Akatsuki cloak?

Definitely the last one.

When he was told of Sakura's new group, Sasuke outwardly showed his shock by denying it and then angrily breaking something. It resulted in him being teased for having a girlfriend in the Akatsuki.

"Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun. It hasn't been that long, has it?" Sakura asked as her former teammate hadn't said anything. "I'll give you a hint, alright. ' _Sasuke-kun!'"._ She squealed it loudly, laughing like a maniac after.

Orochimaru and Kabuto only watched the reunion from the side.

Withdrawing his sword, Sasuke prepared to fight her. He didn't know why, maybe he was mad. Though, she was in the Akatsuki and would probably know information on Itachi.

"You look mad." Sakura deduced. "I thought you would get mad after I showed you these." Activating her Sharingan, she laughed when Sasuke looked like her was going to throw up.

"How do you have those?!" He spat at her.

"That's none of your concern." The cherry blossom replied.

"You're not an Uchiha." The man said.

"No, Sasuke. I'm more of an Uchiha than you ever were."

Wood shot out of the trees, attempting to wrap around Sasuke. If he was shocked, he didn't show it. Lightning danced around his hand and he destroyed the pinkette's attacks.

 _He's fast._ Sakura thought, assessing how he dodged her... Wood. But with her Sharingan, she could keep up with him.

However, she only wanted a taste of him. She couldn't afford to have a full on battle, she had a job to do. So, she quickly used a genjutsu on her body which camoflaged her into her surroundings. Dropping her chakra levels, she fled while Sasuke continued to destroy her onslaught of Wood.

He noticed her disappearance quickly though and began to pursue her. But, she got away faster than he thought.

"Fuck!" He yelled, grabbing onto a cherry blossom petal and tearing it to shreds. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when looking at the green leaves on the trees.

* * *

Sakura skipped away with a spring in her step. _That was fun._ She thought.

 **"I'm so glad that Sasuke-kun wanted to train with me."** A younger Sakura announced in her head.

 _Oh, shut up._ The pinkette rolled her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I've just realised that I do take long to update this story. It's mainly because I focus more on my other story, Sakura. Plus, I have exams coming up and that takes up my time.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 9**

"Sakura-chan!" It was Naruto's voice she could hear. He was running up to her on the streets of Konoha. "You wanna spar with me?" He asked, eager to fight as always.

Sakura only nodded in response.

"She promised me today!" Ino then came into the scene. "Forehead, remember, you said you would teach me that new jutsu of yours?"

Sakura nodded.

"Sakura, looking good today." Some guys whistled on the side. Naruto sent them glares and they quickly looked away, most of them blushing.

"Sakura-hime," The pinkette heard behind her. Turning around, she found Neji. "Godaime-sama requests your prescence."

Sakura nodded.

* * *

"Shit!" The cherry blossom woke up with a start. A bird had squeaked, disturbed by something and woke her up. It woke her up from that... bizzare dream.

The sun had yet to rise and she wasn't very far from her destination. Just a little longer and she would be able to battle a jincuriki! And this time, she would be sure to capture it.

 _To make my eternal world..._

 **"Why do you have to do this?"** A voice in her head sighed. It was that voice, her younger self.

 **"Because we were screwed over."** Inner Sakura replied. **"It was time to start being selfish, Sakura of the Sharingan. You made the right decision."**

 **"Stop thinking that if you say it often, that makes it true."**

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Sakura screamed, cluthing her head.

No one replied.

* * *

Smoke clouded the battlefield and Kakashi had sighed in relief. But, just a second later, he was on alert once again. Noticing his discomfort, Ino looked towards the dust cloud.

Laughing began to resound from within. The battle was not yet over.

"I have to admit. Your attacks surprised me. However, you are not strong enough to defeat me." Kakuzu threw away his Akatsuki cloak, revealing his abnormal body. Black threads shot out from his back and created four large beasts, all wearing masks.

"How...?" Ino heard Chouji remark. She was about to suggest that the three of them split the beasts up but their opponent reached out with his threads and pulled the jonin towards him. The two began a dangerous duel.

"We take two each!" Ino yelled at Chouji. In quick movements, the two split up and were chased by a couple of beasts each.

Swiftly, Ino was gliding across the field, running away from the things that wanted to attack her. It was terrifying (being chased) and plans were appearing in her mind at a constant pace but none of which seemed to work.

Lightning and fire was shot from the couple of beasts' mouth and was aimed straight at the blue-eyed chunin. Flipping over to the other side of the battlefield, Ino beautifully landed and prepared chakra scalpals.

From above, one beast began to drop down on her. Swiping her blade, the blonde cut through the black threads but they immediately reattached to one another. The beasts attacked her with a lightning surge, electrifying her body.

"Argh!" She cried, attempting to retreat but the second beast was right onto her. It grew out its black threads and formed a hammer of some sort. Slamming it into the kunoichi's back, she was thrown far away, face flat on the ground and already in a vulnerable position.

 _It's no use... I've lost..._ The blonde began, tears beginning to form in her eyes. It was a rare sight. _I can't avenge Asuma-sensei... I can barely fight an Akatsuki member... It was stupid of me to think I could bring Forehead back..._

"Now, what are you talking about?" A familiar voice asked her. Looking up, Ino saw Asuma walking towards her. "What were my last words to you, Ino?"

Her mind reeled back, back to that horrid moment. Her sensei was on the ground, life fading from his eyes but he was telling his students what he wanted them all to know. He had called Chouji the kindest person he had ever met, Shikamaru was the smartest and was like a son to him. And his last words to Ino were: "Whenever you put your mind to something, you get it done. You are the most persistent person I know." The way he said it, he made it seem like being persistent was a good thing in this case. "If you want to bring Sakura back, I know you'll do it."

"You're persistent, Ino. I was right when I said that." The image of her sensei faded after that and she was met with the sight of the two beasts charging up their attacks. Both were surrounded by chakra but one had flames burnining in its mouth and the other had lightning cracking around its body.

She rose slowly. _I'm a persistent bitch. And I'm not gonna die here!_

In sync with one another, the masked beasts let their attacks zip through the air, aimed right at Ino. Focusing her chakra around her body, the area around Ino began to glow bright green - the colour of medical ninjutsu.

The devestating attacks collided into her, creating an explosion that produced a huge, dull cloud of black smoke. The smoke floated upwards, eventually clearing up and revealing an unscathed Ino. She smirked as a green shield protected her body.

The shield disappeared and she was zooming across the battlefield, chakra pumping into her feet and, running right towards the masked beast duo. They shot out small blasts of lightning and fire but the blue-eyed ninja dodged them all, leaving black ash on the ground where the attacks landed.

One began to chase her as she ran up a tree, the other tried to cut her off and meet her at the top. Forming chakra blades, she sliced through it and quickly sped forwards, avoiding its counter-attack.

 _This is my chance!_ Ino thought as she back-flipped off of the tree and transferred chakra into her foot. With as much force as she could muster, she slammed her foot into the mask of one the beasts and it cracked. The threaded monster was blown to the ground, creating a crater where it laid, unmoving and a pile of threads.

Before she even knew it - before the second beast could attack her - her body had been scooped up away from the masked beast. Naruto had finally arrived on the battlefield with a new jutsu in his arsenal.

* * *

She was running through the sewer, aware of the prescence around her. The chakra was messy, as if it were divided into bits around her.

Water splashed about as a result of her footsteps, letting ripples glide throughout the rest as Yugito continued to run through the sewer. _Quickly!_ Her mind screamed at her. Usually, she wouldn't be so anxious but this person was so... different. Chakra was everywhere and it confused Yugito as to where the enemy actually was.

A dead-end blocked her path and she smirked. _Made it._

"You've kinda screwed yourself, haven't you?" Pink flower petals appeared from different tunnels in the sewer, swirling around and pushing away the water with its wind. Each petal connected with another and began to form a person.

Sakura stood in front of the Nibi, a neutral facial expression imprinted on her face.

"You're too cocky, Akatsuki." Yugito replied, revealling her smirk. In an instant, the sewer exploded and the rough sound of walls breaking and water sloshing around rapidly was heard. The Cloud ninja had protected herself with a blue-flamed shield.

"So are you." The pinkette replied, a wooden shield (that was slightly burnt and broken) had protected her from the blast.

"Wood Style?" The jinchuriki questioned. "This will be interesting."

"I agree with you, I am interesting." Sakura winked, forming her right arm into a wooden hammer and her left arm into a wooden shield.

Pumping chakra into her feet, she sped up to the Nibi and intended on smashing her hammer down. But Yugito used her flame shield once again, burning Sakura's wooden weapon.

"Shit!" The pinkette let the curse spill before she angrily punched the ground near her oppenent, breaking the sewer's ground and pushing the blonde back. For safety, the Akatsuki member retracted the wood on her hands back into her skin. Her nature Kekkei Genkai was now something she couldn't rely on in this battle.

 _Then how about this..._ Sakura activated her Sharingan and looked at the Cloud ninja in the eye. Knowing that a simple genjutsu wouldn't work, she pushed more chakra into her illusion and used one from her special collection.

"I like this place." The cherry blossom smirked into the illusioned volcano. They were at the top of the volcano, a pool of lava within it. Yugito was chained and hanging above it. "It's so calming." Muffled words could be heard from her target. "Oh, I don't like it when other people talk as well. Hence, the threads that have sewn your mouth shut."

Sakura floated into the volcano but above the lava, and was now face to face with the Nibi. "Can I tell you a story?" She asked and received angry sounds in response. "I'll take that as a yes because, let's face it, you can't break out of this and we have nothing else to do." She laughed, letting out a snort. "So, I joined the Akatsuki because I saw how unfair this world is. I mean, I was screwed over by... everyone. And I hate to be the person who feels sorry for themself because... ew." She pointed to her tongue in disgust. "But I deserve some good things in life. Then, I found out about the Nibi and the rest of the bijuu. And what they all can do once they are collected. So, won't you allow me to extract the beast within you? I'll be saving you from this world and making better ones for everyone else."

Yugito shook the chains, letting out sounds that made Sakura angry. _I asked for once AND I was nice about it!_ _Why can't people just listen to reason_?!

"I thought we could do this the easy way but..." She sighed and then she activated her doujitsu once again, staring her opponent down and attempting to strike fear with her. Yugito was a proud and brave kunoichi but even she felt some unease at Sakura's look.

"You should hope that you're immune to burning." The pillars the chains were connected to lowered, along with the jinchuriki. Ever so slowly, the Two-Tails' host's feet dipped into the pool of lava and her muffled shriek could be heard.

"Louder, please!" Sakura yelled, a smile of pleasure apparent upon her face.

 **"Ew, are you getting off on this?!"** Inner screamed.

 _No, but isn't that just music to your ears?_ She laughed outwardly as the blonde contined to scream.

It took hours, twelve to be exact, for Sakura's genjutsu to finish. She was completely satisfied once they were up, she even decided that she would fuck Hidan after this as a celebration.

Back in reality, Sakura had wrapped her wood (haha) around Yugito. The Cloud ninja was unconscious, her head looking down at the ground and her limbs restricted from moving.

With glee, the rogue ninja produced a full vile from her sleeve. It contained a colourless substance. She was going to use it to make sure Yugito wouldn't wake up as she travelled back to the hideout.

"You were fun." Sakura said to her opponents unresponsive body. "But I have a duty to fufill."

"So do I." Yugito replied, red aura surrounding her body. It quickly turned blue and Sakura had trouble hiding her shock. As a result of her aura, the jinchuriki burnt the wooden restraints around her with her blue fire. The wood burnt down to the ground. "I will not lose! I have a duty towards the Shinobi World!" The Nibi screamed and a bright blue light blinded Sakura for a split-second. The sewer was shaking, water was sloshing about crazily and Sakura rubbed her eyes to check if what she was seeing was real.

In front of her, the Nibi stood with two tails swirling around her beastly body that resembled a cat. Her fur looked like blue flames burning around her. She was an odd-eyed cat (one yellow and the other green). Ferociously, she roared. **"You dare challenge me, Matatabi - The Blazing Cat! I'll rid the world of people like you, scum!"**

 **A/N Whoops, the chapter ends here. If only anyone could change that...**

 **I do feel iffy about this chapter though. I don't know why.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Okay, so I just started calling the younger Sakura Younger (I'm great at names, I know. You don't have to tell me).**

 **This chapter is... *sigh* I am not proud of it. I didn't focus on physical fighting so I'm sorry if you are disapponted with the fight between Matatabi and Sakura.**

 **AND THANK YOU FOR 30 REVIEWS OMG!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 10**

 **"You dare challenge me, Matatabi - The Blazing Cat! I'll rid the world of people like you, scum!"**

 _I'm in deep shit. Since when could a jinchuriki transform into a Tailed-Beast?_ Sakura pondered, unconsciously taking a step back from the mighty monster.

 **"We can take her."** Inner replied with full confidence in her words.

 **"Yeah, just like we could take Zabuza at my age."** Younger said, sarcasm dripping through her words. **"I mean, we tied with Ino but _sure_ , we can fight a demon. We are _soooo_ ready."** The sound of the voice's eyes rolling could actually be heard.

 _You both are, like, the angel and the devil on my shoulders..._ The pinkette mumbled, trying to ignore the voices to formulate some sort of plan.

Wood Release wouldn't work, not with the flames. And the Sharingan would be useful but to what extent? And her strength would work if she was sure she wouldn't get burnt when punching the cat. However, if her Wood Style got burnt then it was likely her fist would get burnt too.

 **"Die!"** Matatabi screamed. A blue fireball shot out of her mouth, soaring through the air like a meteor towards Sakura.

"Water Style: Water Shark Jutsu!" The Akatsuki member utilised a jutsu she copied off Kisame with her Sharingan. The liquid shark - made from the sewer water - targeted the fireball and crashed into it, creating a cloud of steam behind. But Sakura was not done. "Earth Style: Earth Shock Jutsu!" The ground beneath the sewer water shook violently, crossing the ground to the Nibi.

 **"Pathetic human!"** The bijuu slammed her paw onto the ground, breaking it in her enemy's direction. In response, the rogue ninja punched the ground, creating a bigger force that would make the cat falter. Instead of stumbling backwards, the beast merely withstood the attack of rubble and laughed.

"Shit..." Sakura muttered, feeling her chakra getting low. She used a lot of it with her genjutsu. Quickly, she used another water attack. A water dragon charged at the beast who responded with a barrage of fireballs and the steam cloud was once again created.

 **"Ahahaha! You are an Akatsuki member? You, little girl?"** The cherry blossom frowned. **"Yugito and I thought you would put up more of a fight, especially with your two Kekkai Genkai. Apparently not."**

"Be quiet, demon!" Sakura spat. "You should be honoured to be in the prescence of these rare abilities!"

"Get up, Sakura!" Madara shouted at his student. She was sprawled on the ground, tired from his training session.

"If only I could take a break..." She sighed. She wondered that, if his first training session with her was like this then, what would the second one be like?

"Weak." He told her. "You should be honoured that I gave you these gifts but you want to piss them away like the sad, pathetic girl you always were."

 **"If only you used them well, I would be fascinated with them."** The Two-Tails spoke, snapping Sakura out of her flashback. **"But you are no match for me. I'll spare you if you go home. Leave the Akatsuki and you shall not feel my wrath!"**

"You think I would leave my organisation just because you told me to?" The pinkette was now the one to laugh. "Who died and gave you all the authority, furball?"

 **"Such disrespect... No matter. Whoever brain-washed you surely did a good job. Or was your will just so easy to break?"**

"I am with the Akatsuki of my own free will!" Sakura spoke clearly, her Sharingan flashing along with her anger. "I have dealt with the terrible people of this toxic world. No more! Good people don't deserve it, everyone shall have their dream. Everyone shall be happy once I capture you and every other beast!"

 **"Happy? It seems as though you will be the only happy one. That's quite selfish of you, isn't it?"**

 **"Yes, but apparently it's alright for us to be selfish. Right, Sakura?"**

"Just shut up." Sakura said, not clear on who she was talking to.

 **"I gave you the chance to leave but you did not take it. Now! Prepare to meet your end!"** Matatabi shrieked and pounced for her prey. Sakura merely stood on the spot.

"Well, fire burns wood, right? Isn't that an easy way to defeat Wood Release users?" Sakura asked her sensei.

"Normally, yes. But Hashirama Senju was able to restrain the Nibi with his Wood Release so it is possible that one can stop the wood from burning when coming into contact with fire." Madara replied.

"You mean, like, flame resistant wood?"

"Precisely."

Instead of being torn to pieces by Matatabi's beastly claws, wood bolted out of Sakura's stomach, ripping her black shirt and Akatsuki cloak simultaneously. The wood collided into the Nibi's nose, pushing her backwards without burning. Two other lines of wood shot out of the rogue ninja's stomache and surrounded the cat, almost as if she had three tails and was fighting the Two-Tails.

"Do you still feel underwhelmed?" The pinkette asked. The wood slithered like a snake around Matatabi's body and restrained her from moving.

 **"You're still weak."** The Nibi said to her, struggling around the branches. She was about to send out a fireball but the branches covered her mouth, restricting her from doing so.

"I controlled the Kyuubi and let him rampage around Konoha."Madara revealed to his student.

"Really, Madara-sensei?" Sakura asked. "How did you control it?"

"With my Sharingan."

Sakura looked the beast in the eyes. "You are under my control now." She told her and the Sharingan span in Matatabi's eyes. "Revert back to your human form." She commanded, ignoring the tickle in her eyes. The beast did so and reverted back to Yugito. Still, eye to eye, the Sharingan user utilised her genjutsu once again. "Let's try 24 hours this time." She said and it worked despite her low chakra. She used less now and they were back at the volcano.

When the torture was over, Yugito dropped to the ground, unconscious, and Sakura stood above her, with her eyes closed.

* * *

Deidara would not stand for it. Not at all.

Why did Sakura get to capture the beast? She tried with her former teammate but failed with that. And then she met with him again but didn't even try to capture him. She was failing at being an Akatsuki member yet she was tasked with capturing someone of utmost importance. It was so unfair.

Not trusting Sakura to do the job right, Deidara made his way for the Lightning country with his disciple, Tobi. He had to make sure the stupid pinkette wouldn't fuck it up.

"Deidara-senpai, wait for me!" The masked, child-like man cried as they neared the area where the explosions were coming from. "Do you think Haruno-san is in there?"

The blonde didn't respond as he walked into the sewer.

"It's dark..." Tobi whispered.

While he ignored Tobi's random remarks, Deidara saw that he could make out two figures within the sewer, one on the ground and one standing. He soon saw that the one standing above was Sakura. The one on the ground was the jinchuriki.

"...Sakura." The Art Lover said as no one had said anything.

Her eyes snapped open, three tomoe spinning in her Sharingan. Her matured doujutsu was there, for all to see.

 _I really hate the Sharingan..._ Deidara thought.

* * *

Ino felt happy as she returned to Konoha. Not only did Naruto and Shikamaru defeat an Akatsuki member each, but she had learnt how to use her new skill as well as played a part in the defeat of Kakuzu. Once they figured out they had to defeat the threaded beasts first, she was glad she was able to destroy one prior to Naruto's arrival.

However, the blonde knew she had a long way to go. Kakuzu was powerful and Hidan's immortality was frightening. These were the types of people that were in the evil organisation... And Sakura was one of them.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked Naruto after he had been discharged from the hospital. That jutsu had done a number on his arm. Of course, the knucklehead demanded to go to Ichiraku as soon as he was released and he forced Ino to come along.

"I never felt bad, believe it!" He exclaimed. "Oba-chan said I can't use that jutsu anymore but I feel fine!"

"You'll lose your arm if you keep using it." Ino told him. "You need to learn how to throw the Shuriken and that will help."

"What about the jutsu you used? That was amazing!"

"Shishou taught it to me. I used my chakra to create a shield. I'm glad it was able to withstand the attack."

"With our new jutsus, we'll be able to bring back Sakura-chan AND Sasuke-teme, believe it!" He pumped his fist into the air, making Jiraiya smile at his energy.

"Let's hope, Naruto-san." Ino replied, swirling around her noodles. "I need to get stronger before that happens."

"Let's train together then! Let's go!" He finished off his meal and ran out of the stall, his destination clear. The Yamanaka fumbled around, accidentally falling off her stool, and chased him to tell him that he still wasn't allowed to train.

* * *

"Tsunade-shishou, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ino asked her master before they could start training.

"What is it?" The Godaime questioned.

"You taught Sakura the Strength of a Hundred Seal also, correct?" The Fifth nodded. "If she actually learns it, when will that be?"

"Around October, by the time she is 17 years old."

"I need to learn it by then too. Preferably earlier." Ino replied.

"That's not possible-"

"I need to!" She shouted. "I'm already much weaker than she is. Imagine how much stronger she'll be with that jutsu!"

Tsunade sighed. "I think... Maybe I can transfer some of my own chakra to you. Maybe it'll speed the process along." It was an idea she had for Sakura before... you know.

 _It has to work._ The chunin thought as she nodded.

* * *

Sakura was angry. Well, a part of her was happy (cough cough Inner) but something strange happened after she won the battle. Strange, but not unheard of. Madara had warned her about it.

Speaking of said master, the Konoha rogue sort him out, telling him to meet her in that specific room. The room Sakura woke up in so long ago, after she "died".

"Ah." The masked man said as his student walked into the room. "Congratulations on capturing a jinchuriki and obtaining a third tomoe."

"We need to talk." She announced. "My eyes... I can only see out of one." The sound of her voice lowered to a whisper; she felt ashamed.

Madara turned to her. "Well... Unfortunately, that does happen if your Sharingan has been used too much and it depends on how you used it too. What did you use your Sharingan for?"

"I was fighting the Nibi... And I controlled her with my Sharingan. And then I used my genjutsu, up to 24 hours... After that, I could only see out of my left eye."

"You controlled the Nibi?" He asked, disbelief swimming in his words.

"Similar to how you controlled the Kyuubi." She revealed. "And then I couldn't see out of my left eye. Please, I know you have another set! I need them!"

"Begging gets you nowhere, Sakura." Tobi said to her. "I may need those eyes for another... purpose."

 **"If begging doesn't work... Force him."** Inner Sakura whispered.

 **"Are you serious?"** Younger asked Inner. **"That will not work!"**

"I need them. And you're going to give them to me!" She stepped forward. Her dagger shot out of her sleeve and she gripped it hard to fuel her bluff. But she should've known it would have met a harsh response.

His hand grabbed at her throat and pushed her towards the wall. His Sharingan flashed into her right one. Usually, the pinkette would have given up straight away. But she was determined to get her Sharingan back so, she stared back and didn't let up.

It may have been seconds but Sakura began to feel like they were in that position for hours. Suddenly, he dropped her onto the ground. Instinctively, her hand went to her a throat, a green aura surrounding it as she healed herself.

"You know which room to go to. I will be there in a bit." He said, not looking at her.

Although she was confused, at least she got what she wanted.

 **"I'm sorry."** Younger apologised to Inner.

"And..." He wasn't finished. "Pein is planning to invade Konoha to capture the Kyuubi. You'll join them, when the time comes."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N To anyone who was wondering - or cares - I've decided to make Naruto and Ino friends only. They won't become a pairing, even though it seemed that they would.** **Even though it doesn't seem like it, NaruHina and InoSai will always be two of my OTPs.**

 **Also, this story has 100 followers! Wow, a lot of people wanna know when I'm uploading (I figured like 10 people would want to read this story). Thank you so much!**

 **Sorry for taking so long to update, I had my exams but I am done now and summer is here!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 11**

 **"We're stronger than were were before!"** Inner exclaimed.

 **"So, let's confront him. Let's threaten the mad man because that _always_ works out. Could you be anymore stupid?"** Younger retorted.

 **"You know you're talking to yourself, right?"**

 **"Yeah, the stupid part!"**

"Would both of you please shut up?!" Sakura yelled, her fist slamming onto the wall and creating a small hole.

 **"Okay, _mum."_**

 **"Jeez, take a chill pill."**

 _Stupid, fucking voices..._

Who were the voices talking about, you ask? Itachi Uchiha.

Sakura barely ever spoke to him, he reminded her too much of Sasuke and she got _really_ angry when thinking about Sasuke. God, she was angry right now.

But something Madara had told her before itched at her brain 24/7. She knew the truth about Itachi, she knew of it all. _The council of Konoha are scum._

But why did he join forces with Madara to kill his clan? Wasn't he capable of doing that himself? Why did he lie to Sasuke? Why did Madara offer his help?

Well, the last one she believed she knew the answer to. It was for their eyes. The eyes he kept, the ones he gave Sakura, including the second set. He obviously took some for himself, it made sense. It also could have been to get Itachi on their side. He was powerful, even without his eyes.

Speaking of eyes, Sakura could see through both of hers now. The operation was successful but she didn't really feel any different. They ached at first, just as they had done before, but she was fine now.

In the end of her inner thoughts, Sakura decided it was best not to interfere with Itachi and the decisions he had made with his life. Regardless of Itachi's true intentions, he was helping the Akatsuki gather every bijuu, making Sakura's dream world become a reality.

Younger snorted. **That's funny.**

Sakura ignored her.

After the eye transplant, Sakura found herself becoming intrigued with the Uchiha. While she pondered over Itachu's true intentions, his little brother was also on her mind.

She had heard that he killed Orochimaru. That meant he was ready to fight Itachi. So, had he achieved his mangekyo sharingan? If so, how strong was he now? Was he strong enough to beat Itachi now?

* * *

"Yes, Shishou?" Ino asked as she walked into the Hokage's office. She was met with the sight of Tsunade sitting at her desk with two chunins she did not know standing in front of her.

"Haru, Mei and Ino. I am sending you three to the Land of Earth. There have been sights of Akatsuki members there and I need you to gather intel."

Ino zoned out after that. _More information on the Akatsuki means more information on Sakura._ Was she really ready to face her again? She had a new look, a new skill set and a new goal. She had to bring her friend back, she just had to!

"Dismissed!"

Ino was the first to run out, yelling out a time and place where the team would rendezvous as she sped off to prepare. The man named Haru sighed. He was supposed to be the captain...

* * *

 _This is so boring..._ Sakura thought as she lazily slouched on a tree branch. She was on supply duty and was gathering anything useful she could fine. She hoped that she would be tasked with capturing the final Cloud jinchuriki but that was apparently going to someone else. She didn't know who had been assigned to capture Naruto.

So, Leader made her go to the Land of Earth along with Deidara and Tobi but in a different area. She had already collected some things and was quickly getting bored. Bored enough that she actually fell asleep on the tree branch.

That was when she appeared in the middle of now where. It was night and she was standing in the middle of a cloud of fog. The only light she had was the moon and the stars above.

"Let's move out." A familiar voice said to her. Her head snapped towards the direction in which the voice sounded from. And she was shocked at what she saw.

Ino. She was looking at Ino, who was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. It seemed as though they were a team.

"Forehead." Ino groaned. "Leader-sama told us to collect the bounty for this guy." She pointed to a corpse on the ground. "Stop pouting. At least you got to capture a jinchuriki."

That's when Sakura snapped out of her dream.

...But, it felt so real. Almost like a vision.

 _No._ She thought to herself. _It's just... Wishful thinking._

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Sakura dreamed of her former best friend and, low and behold, she was standing right on the ground below. Her hair was different - shorter. She was wearing black clothes instead of her signature colour, purple.

"Haru-san, Mei-san." The blonde said to her mission partners. "That lady... She said she saw Sakura around here."

"What lady?" The girl, Mei, asked.

"The lady at the dango shop."

 _Of fucking course!_ The pinkette cursed, anger surging through her veins.

 **"Serves you right for eating so many mission snacks."** Younger berated.

 **"We are a growing woman!"** Inner defended her.

 _I should have just burnt that place down..._

"Stay alert." The man, Haru, on the team said. "Scatter!" The three ninja jumped into different directions, evidently searching for her.

 **"Madara-sensei?"** Sakura alerted her master.

 **"Hm** **? What is it, Sakura?"** He asked.

 **"Three Konoha Shinobi are in the Land of Earth and they know I'm around."**

 **"They provide no threat. Kill them, ignore them. It is your choice."**

"Useless bastard..." Not that she actually meant it but didn't all teachers get on their students' nerves? What she didn't like about Kakashi was his blatant favouritism for Naruto and Sasuke. What she didn't like about Tsunade was when she got drunk and training was cancelled.

Anyway, with the matter of the Konoha chunin, Sakura decided that she would follow them while they searched for her. She could be stealthy and follow Ino. She knew just how to slip underneath the chakra radar with her.

And so, she followed her former best friend as she searched for her. Nothing interesting had happened, all Ino did was ask around for her and she often closed her eyes as if she was trying to sense her. Sakura loved how skilled she was at masking chakra.

"No, I didn't see no pink-haired girl." An old man said to Ino. "But I saw two guys with the cloaks you mentioned on them."

"Could you describe them to me?" The Yamanaka asked.

"Sure. One was blonde and had long hair despite being a man. And the other, also a man, wore a really strange orange mask that only showed one eye."

 _Crap's sake..._ Sakura rolled her eyes. Civillians were so annoying, why did they have to be observant? Couldn't they just shut up when asked questions?

Ino looked like she was at a loss so she turned on her foot and walked back to the meeting point to her teammates. Once she reached there, Sakura noticed that the others were there too, obviously having not succeeded.

"Maybe we should-"

Ino was cut off by an explosion sounding from slightly nearby. A white light appeared above the trees stretched out on the ground signifying where the explosion took place.

 _What was that?_ Sakura asked herself.

 **"Deidara is dead."**

 **"What?!"** Sakura shrieked at her sensei. He didn't reply though and she became pre-occupied with some commotion going on below.

"Mask your chakras, someone's coming." Mei spoke quickly.

Four ninja ran into the clearing, abruptly stopping once the leader did.

 _Holy shit._ Ino thought. "Sasuke?"

In all his Uchiha glory, Sasuke stood with his Team, Hebi, and looked Ino over. "Yamanaka." He said to her. His clothes were dirty and the Team Ten ninja deduced that he had been involved with the explosion.

"Who's she?" Karin asked, voice full of disgust.

"Is she an ex?" Suigetsu asked. "Can I have her now?" After objectifying Ino, he winked at her. Both she and Sakura cringed.

The fourth man, Juugo, quietly stood beside his team but offered no words.

The red-head suddenly whispered into the Uchiha's ear. "You can come out now." Sasuke raised his voice and looked directly at Sakura's location. She smirked.

"Someone got better at sensing." She descended to the ground from the tree, ignoring Ino's shocked look. "Or is the red one the sensory ninja?" She tilted her head at Karin, obviously having noted the discrete whispering. _Red hair... She's an Uzumaki._

"Sakura?!" Ino exclaimed. _Was she there the entire time?_ The blonde looked between the two former teammates. _I was prepared to see Sakura, but not to be apart of this rogue ninja reunion._ For a split second, she felt bad for referring to Sakura as a rogue ninja. But... That was what she was... Despite how wrong it sounded.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno. As rogue ninjas of Konoha, we have no choice but to force you to come with us." Haru said to them, getting into a battle stance along with Mei.

"Wait-" Ino began but both chunins had already charged. They had weapons at the ready, to attack the former Konoha shinobi.

Sasuke acted quickly. Withdrawing his sword, his appeared behind Haru with lightning-quick speed, cutting him down on the spot. The Konoha ninja's dead body sagged to the floor.

Sakura's approach was different. When Mei was right next to her, a branch of wood shot out of her out-stretched hand, impaling right through her body. After, Sakura retracted it back into her palm, leaving the corpse on the ground.

Now, Ino was the only Konoha ninja left... And Sasuke's eyes were directed towards her. Sensing that he was about to attack her, Ino readied herself to use her protective technique. However, before the Uchiha could strike, the pinkette jumped between them.

"Touch her... And I'll rip your fucking throat out."

The threat was clear. Sakura would not stand for harm coming to Ino. She declared long ago that she would not hurt Ino, the girl didn't deserve it. She was the only exception.

"And here I thought you had broken your bonds, Sakura." Sasuke replied to her, unfazed by the threat but he put his sword back. His teammates stood to the sidelines, not feeling the need to intervene. Well, two of them did.

"Hey!" Karin screamed. "How dare you say that to Sasuke-kun! He's so much stronger than you!"

Sakura gave her a dead stare before turning back to her former teammate. "Control your cum dumpster." The cherry blossom said it so dryly that Ino fought the urge to laugh right then and there. Sasuke glared at the cherry blossom while Karin shrieked.

"Is it bad that I like her?" Suigetsu asked Juugo, in reference to Sakura.

"You like anyone who messes with Karin." Was the reply.

"You don't want anyone to harm this Konoha ninja." Sasuke continued the prior conversation once Karin calmed down. "Is it for a different purpose?"

The other four may have looked confused at the situation, but Sakura understood what Sasuke was talking about. He was talking about the Mangekyo Sharingan. It could be activated by killing someone you love. If Sakura was to kill Ino... Would she activate her own?

"Did you let Naruto live for the same purpose?" Sakura asked.

"You didn't answer the question."

"I could just kill you and obtain it. But would I even gain the Mangekyo Sharingan for that?" The implication was as clear as day - she didn't love him anymore.

At that, Sasuke's smirk grew wider and he gripped his sword.

Sakura took off her Akatsuki cloak, revealing her black clothes underneath and daggers attached to her arms. She grabbed them and got into a battle stance herself.

"We should help Sasuke!" Karin exclaimed to the others.

"I don't think he-" Suigetsu was interrupted by Karin dragging him over to Sasuke. Juugo seemed conflicted as he felt a sudden urge consume his body.

As Sasuke prepared to unleash a fireball to start the fight, Karin forced Suigetsu to attack with him using a water dragon. The two jutsus soared at Sakura and she prepared her own move. But before she finished the hand signs, she noticed something odd surround her.

The attacks crashed into Ino's green shield, enveloping it into smoke before it dissipated. Sakura looked at the girl strangely.

"You protect me, I'll protect you." Ino said. _Even though... I have to bring you in after, because of what you did to Mei._

Sakura didn't know how to feel after what she had said. "I didn't ask you to-"

"We'll fight them together."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 12**

"Stay out of this." Sakura told Ino. The blonde, however, didn't listen and got into her stance. She knew this fight would be difficult, but with the Akatsuki member on her side...

 _That shield of hers..._ Sakura thought. _I didn't know she could do that._

 **"I** **think - I THINK - she trained."** Younger said.

 **"Yeah, no shit."** Inner replied, not noting the sarcasm.

"Fine." Sakura announced. Ino raised her eyebrow but didn't turn to her former best friend. "Take on the other two. I get Sasuke."

It seemed reasonable enough so the Konoha Kunoichi agreed. The girl with the red hair looked as if she barely fought - no doubt she was the medic - but the boy had a great sword on his back that he grabbed to fight with in this battle (Sakura narrowed her eyes upon realsing it was Zabuza's sword).

Jugo stood far away from the standoff, but his hand began to shake and animals evaded him because of his aura, although he wished they would comfort him rather than run away from him.

Sasuke attempted to appear behind Sakura with his unbelievable speed, but the pinkette could see it coming. She was fast herself due to chakra manipulation and effortlessly dodged his sword.

'I'll kill you, bitch!" Karin screamed, running at the Akatsuki member with a paper bomb in hand. However, Ino slapped her and she flew away from the group, unconscious on the ground.

 _That was easy._ Ino thought before turning to Suigetsu.

"If I win..." The sword-wielder began, smiling devilishly. "You get to be mine."

"Yeah, right." The blonde laughed.

"Oh, honey. You won't have a choice."

"How rapey of you." Ino slammed her fist onto the ground, crumbling the earth as it moved quickly towards Suigetsu. He jumped up into the air and water shuriken were produced from his body, showering over Ino.

The Konoha ninja used her shield once more, blocking the barrage of water. Forming a hand sign with one hand, she made it so her enemy couldn't move. With another hand, she threw a paper bomb that exploded him into a splash of water, making Ino believe it was a clone.

She sensed for his chakra... But it was scattered. And then she felt it behind her. Suigetsu solidified his body and knocked the Team Ten kunoichi away with his foot to her back.

This was going to be harder than she had initially thought.

On the other hand, Sakura was having a blast. Sasuke was injured from his last fight so he was a bit tired and she seemed to be toying with him a bit, making him run around as she flew about in the form of cherry blossoms. He knew she was messing about with him and that only made him angrier. So his attacks became more desperate and reckless.

Lightning crackled around his body suddenly and he attacked her before her body could de-materialise into cherry blossoms. She stumbled backwards but quickly collected herself, skidding on the ground. She mentally berated herself for letting her guard down, she even felt as if Madara was staring down at her with shame.

"You're dead!" A sudden monstrous voice screamed. Sakura didn't really think of the big guy. He seemed like he was going to only observe the fight. But when he charged at her through the air as fast as a jet, the pinkette knew she had to get rid of him to fight Sasuke.

Pushing her hands upwards, a multitude of wooden beams shot upwards, one hitting Juugo in the stomache and pushing him high into the sky. Sakura followed him by pushing herself up with a wooden beam.

All of a sudden, Sasuke appeared in front of Sakura with his chidori activated. He striked at her chest and it hit. However, her body turned into cherry blossoms and the pink petals pushed passed the Uchiha and his teammate. A paper bomb was hidden in the collage of petals and detonated, forcing Sasuke to retreat to the ground. The cherry blossoms reformed into Sakura when she was just above Jugo. She charged at him and flew down to the ground with him once she punched him with her chakra-enhanced fist - the same fist made from Hashirama's cells.

Smoke filled the battlefield after the destruction of the wooden beams and the ground. Once it cleared, Sakura could be seen standing over Jugo's corpse.

 _Rampaging beasts die quickly..._ She thought to herself, staring at the man she had just killed.

"Sasuke, that bitch killed Jugo!" Suigetsu yelled, pausing his fight with Ino. He had increased the size of his limbs since Ino proved to be an annoying opponent for him.

"Get Karin. We'll fall back for now." Sasuke replied, making his former teammate frown.

"You're leaving already? We barely had any fun." She said, activating her Sharingan.

 _I want to fucking kill him._ The cherry blossom thought.

 **"Why are you so passionate about it?"** Inner asked.

 **"Yeah, just let him go."** Younger added.

 **"You're only saying that because you like him."**

"Fine, whatever." Sakura grumbled, allowing him to leave. She walked away from Jugo's body as Sasuke picked him up. A small part of her wanted to make a snarky comment, such as: "You didn't pick up Naruto when you knocked him out at the Final Valley." But she advised against it. She was tired herself and fighting him seemed less fun now.

Ino didn't like the idea of letting Sasuke just leave. But there was only one of her, and a bunch of them. She needed to call for back up.

 _Tsunade-shishou?_ She called, hoping to be able to get into contact with her from so far away. However, it didn't work.

Team Hebi left the scene, leaving the former best friends alone in the clearing. Wordlessly, Sakura picked up her Akatsuki cloak and put it on.

"You killed two people." Ino said after a bit of silence.

Sakura snorted. "Grow up, Ino." She replied.

"Do you think I could convince you to come back?" The blonde asked. When the cherry blossom shook her head, her friend sighed.

Sakura paused for a moment. Ino noticed how she activated her Sharingan, but she didn't know why. It was active for a few seconds before it faded away. "I'm not coming back." She said with full confidence. "But you could come with me."

The chunin's eyes widened at the offer. Had Sakura just invited her to join the Akatsuki? A criminal organisation, one member of which killed her sensei?

"You're crazy." Ino whispered and Sakura physically flinched, the blonde's comment hitting a nerve.

"Fuck you!" She spat.

"Do you seriously think I would betray Konoha?" The Yamanaka asked her, her eyes narrowed. "My village, with all of my friends... except you."

"We're not... friends." It sounded so childish and also, so similar to when they stopped being friends back in the Academy. _But we're not rivals, I'm much stronger than her._

"What did they do to you? This isn't the Sakura I know."

"That Sakura is gone!" The pinkette suddenly exploded. "She's no longer around so... Just stop!"

"No. I know you're still in there. I know you want to come back to Konoha."

 **"I know what we have to do."** Inner said. **"Kill her."**

 **"What?!"** Younger shrieked.

 **"We need the Mangekyo Sharingan. Who better to kill than Ino?"**

 **"You can't!"** Younger screamed, her voice filled with desperation.

" **Kill her, Sakura!"**

 **"No, don't!"**

 **"KILL HER!"**

 **"No..."**

Younger's voice phased out and Inner's voice chanted those words over and over again.

 **"SAKURA, KILL HER!"**

Sakura yelped out in pain, clutching her head. "Stop it!"

"Sakura!" Ino yelled out, watching as her former best friend began to have an inward battle.

 _Kill her... Kill her and it will stop. Kill her for the Mangekyo Sharingan..._ _Kill her for power. Kill her for Madara-sensei._

 **"It's the only way."**

The Akatsuki member screamed bloody murder before launching herself at Ino.

"What are you doing?!" Ino exclaimed as she dodged the Cherry Blossom's fist. It shattered the earth where the Yamanaka previously stood.

 _Wood Clone Jutsu!_ Three wooden Sakuras jumped from her back and charged at Ino. The blonde slammed her fist into one, destroying it. The other two attacked her with their daggers simultaneously to which she countered with her chakra scalpals. She cut one down immediately but the other sliced at her head and she ducked swiftly. If she had had longer hair, it would have been cut.

Suddenly, the real Sakura was above them and slammed her fist down. Ino skidded out of the way but stumbled from the after shock. In sheer panic, she made it so Sakura couldn't move.

 _Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!_ She used this technique so she could move her own body and move as far away from it as possible. When she would undo her jutsu, she would be far away enough to retreat.

She did not expect that it would fail.

"What the fuck?" She whispered to herself.

Sakura still couldn't move and began to shake with anger. _One big move... One big move and she'll die._

"Still think the old Sakura is here?" The pinkette said, pointing her finger at Ino.

"Kai!" Ino released the genjutsu immediately. The Akatsuki member simply smirked as she realised that she was, once again, able to move. Of course, with any over-powered technique of the Yamanaka clan, there was a time limit.

Sakura took out one of her daggers and transferred chakra to it before appearing right behind Ino. Their chakra blades clashed together in a series of swipes, each girl annoying the other. Ino was agile so it was hard to land a hit but Sakura was skilled with her daggers, having gone through rigorous training to be the best, so she was shocked when her former best friend was able to keep up with her.

"Enough of this!" Sakura yelled, infusing chakra into her fist and striking Ino, who blocked with her Chakra Shield. The cherry blossom continuously punched the shield, weakening it with every strike. Eventually, it shattered and she broke through.

However, Ino quickly - abnormally quickly - slammed her fist into Sakura's face with such power that the rogue ninja was sent flying into the forest, hitting and destroying many trees.

 _What the..._ A dizzy Sakura thought, noting the sting in her cheek. _That bruised._

She stood up among the destroyed trees, regarding the blonde with curiosity. Her friend stood there, a look of fierce determination on her face and a blue diamond seal on her forehead.

"No..." The pinkette breathed. "You can't... How do you know that?!" Her face went red and she clenched her fists. "So all this time, she was training you as well?! Were you conspiring against me?! Is that it?!"

"What? No, I-" Ino began to explain, a look of worry on her face. This was all just a misunderstanding.

"Fuck you, Ino. I'll fucking kill you someday, just you wait." With that, she dissolved into cherry blossoms. She wanted to kill her but Madara advised her against fighting when she was angry, shown by how reckless she was when fighting Kakashi and Naruto at their reunion.

 _I should have killed her when I had the chance..._ Unshed tears were in the former Team Seven member's eyes. Furiously, she wiped them away.

 _Ino's no longer the exception. No one is. I'll kill her and get the Mangekyo Sharingan. Madara-sensei will be proud of me._

* * *

"...So that's what happened." Ino finished giving her report to Tsunade. The sanin closed her eyes so her student wouldn't see the hurt shining in them. She was so hurt that she couldn't even find the urge to congratulate Ino on mastering the Strength of a Hundred Seal.

"Thank you, Ino. There's another mission I want you to go on. Kakashi will fill you in on the details." The blonde left the Godaime to her thoughts. As soon as the door closed, Tsunade began to weep.

The pain she felt about Sakura was too great. Fate was cruel for this to be happening. How many curveballs was life going to throw at them?

A few days later, the elder toad, Fukasaku from Mount Myoboku, visited the Hokage with some devistating news.


End file.
